Authorities in Southern California say they’ve dismantled a terror plot that was aimed at “multiple targets.”
The suspect is a 26-year-old U.S. army veteran who served in Afghanistan, named Mark Domingo. Federal agents arrested him on Friday while he was finalizing plans to plant a bomb at a Nazi rally that had been scheduled Sunday in Long Beach.
Domingo, who had recently converted to Islam, planned to bomb the rally as retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks, federal prosecutors said.
WATCH: Veteran arrested in terrorist plot was ‘under constant surveillance’: U.S. attorney
He was arrested on a charge of providing material support to terrorists and a criminal complaint said he had been planning since March to “manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.” FBI agent Tasha Coolidge said in an affidavit that Domingo allegedly bought materials for an improvised explosive device that could be remotely triggered.
The affidavit added that if his targets survived the planned bombing at Bluff Park, Domingo discussed launching further attacks on the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles or on a train.
WATCH: Veteran involved in terrorist plot purchased explosives from undercover officer
The planned rally at Bluff Park did not occur, but there were counter-protests that day.
According to U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna, Domingo was under ‘constant surveillance’ by authorities while he planned the attack.
“This is a case in which law enforcement were able to identify a man consumed with hate and bent on mass murder and stop him before he could carry out his attack,” Hanna said at a news conference in California on Monday.
WATCH: U.S. veteran involved in terror plot served in Afghanistan in 2013
“Nevertheless, the criminal case outlines a chilling terrorism plot that developed over the last two months and targeted innocent Americans that he expected to gather this past weekend.”
Hanna says Domingo had requested the construction of improvised explosive devices he planned to use in the attack, which were delivered to Domingo by an undercover law enforcement officer.
“But fortunately the IEDs that he planned to use weren’t actual bombs, they were inert devices provided by the FBI that posed no danger to the public,” Hanna said.
WATCH: Suspect arrested in terrorist plot had ‘backup plan’ if rally was cancelled: U.S. attorney
According to Hanna, Domingo was taken into custody after he received what he believed were pressure cooker bombs, and had travelled to Long Beach to survey the site where his intended victims were to congregate.
According to Hanna, There are no known co-conspirators, and there is no ongoing threat to the public related to the matter.
In a statement Monday, the family of Mark Domingo had no further comment about the criminal charges against the 26-year-old. The statement also asked for privacy.
The suspect’s younger brother, James Domingo, told reporters outside the family’s Los Angeles home that he’d hoped Mark’s religious conversion would offer him some guidance.
James Domingo declined to say whether he believed his brother was guilty or innocent. He said he would “wait for the trial.”
— With files from The Associated Press