An Arizona man is currently facing charges after a months-long investigation proved that he was plotting a mass shooting at an Atlanta rap concert to “incite a race war.”
Mark Adams Prieto was indicted by a federal grand jury
on Tuesday (June 11) after an investigation led by the FBI found evidence that he was allegedly attempting to start a race war ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.Member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Phoenix, Arizona, detailed information surrounding the investigation, which began in October 2023, was submitted in court through an affidavit. Per the court document, a reliable source reported that Prieto allegedly “expressed a desire to incite a race war before the 2024 United States Presidential Election.”
The source also revealed that they spoke with Prieto at various gun shows over three years, ultimately leading to a politically charged conversation where Prieto’s comments allegedly became “suspicious and alarming” and included “advocating for a mass shooting and specifically targeting ‘Blacks, Jews, or Muslims.’”
“Prieto believes that martial law will be implemented shortly after the 2024 election and that a mass shooting should occur prior to the implementation of martial law,” the source told FBI agents. In late 2023, the source also said that Priet asked if they were “ready to kill a bunch of people.”
This instance is what the FBI used in the affidavit as an example of “Prieto’s desire to recruit people to help him carry out an attack.” The investigation also found proof that Prieto worked as a vendor at a gun show in Prescott, Arizona, selling numerous firearms from his collection. According to the source, the FBI was warned of Prieto’s desire to conduct trades “off book” through cash or trade to “avoid possible issues or interactions with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.”
From this past January to March, Prieto was under surveillance by the FBI, and in mid-January, undercover agents went to a gun show to connect with Prieto and their confidential source.
“Prieto divulged his plan to commit crimes of violence against African Americans in Atlanta, Georgia. Specifically.” He also disclosed plans to carry out a mass shooting at a yet-to-be-determined rap concert in the city to both the source and undercover agents.
“The reason I say Atlanta. Why, why is Georgia such a [expletive] upstate now? When I was a kid, that was one of the most conservative states in the country. Why is it not now? Because as the crime got worse in LA, St. Louis, and all these other cities, all the [expletives] moved out of those (places) and moved to Atlanta. That’s why it isn’t so great anymore. And they’ve been there for a couple, several years,” read a statement shared in the court filings about Prieto sharing his ideas around the proposed Atlanta attack with the undercover agents and their source, who has not been identified.
According to Prieto, he wanted to carry out the attack at a rap concert because “there would be a high concentration of African Americans” at the event.
He later shared that his plan would be executed at a rap concert likely to be held at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta’s midtown neighborhood on May 14 and May 15. Later reports confirmed Prieto’s desire to hold off until June to put the planned attack in motion.
Ultimately, officers stopped Prieto while traveling to visit his mother in Florida in mid-May.
“Prieto was stopped by law enforcement driving east from Arizona through New Mexico along Interstate 40,” said the USDOJ. “Prieto was in possession of seven firearms and was taken into federal custody. Law enforcement then executed a search warrant at his home in Prescott. Law enforcement found more firearms in his residence, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle.”
He now
faces charges for firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm; all convictions carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.On the other hand, Prieto’s possible conviction for Possession of an Unregistered Firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. If charged separately, Prieto could also face 15 years in federal prison for each charge.
A trial date has not yet been scheduled.
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