Man sentenced to 25 years in plot to bomb California rally

The man who plotted the bombing of a 2019 political rally in Long Beach, Calif., was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison on Monday.

Mark Steven Domingo was found guilty in August of providing material support to terrorists, and of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He had faced the possibility of life in prison.

“At trial, [Domingo] testified and repeatedly affirmed that he intended to commit mass murder in March and April 2019,” prosecutors wrote in a statement recommending a life sentence, according to a DOJ statement.

“[H]e was the one who chose to attack the rally, chose to use the bombs and chose to go through with the plot to commit mass murder, right up until the moment of his arrest,” they added.

The 28-year-old from Reseda, Calif., has been in federal custody since April 2019, according to the statement. 

Domingo’s online posts indicated he supported violence, wanted to seek revenge for attacks against Muslims and was willing to become a martyr, court documents showed.

Specifically, his posts called for an attack similar to the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas as he sought retribution for a mass shooting targeting Muslims in New Zealand in March 2019, the DOJ added of his online presence.

Ahead of the rally, Domingo asked a person, whom he thought was a confederate but was actually working with the FBI, to bring a bomb maker into his plan.

He gave the bomb maker, who was an undercover law enforcement officer, hundreds of nails for the bombs. On April 29, 2019, Domingo received two live bombs and was arrested with them in his hands.