A Bad Bunny concert in Atlanta was attacked by an Arizona man who allegedly planned a mass shooting to incite a race war ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, a federal indictment has revealed.
Mark Adams Prieto was accused of charges of firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime and possession of an unregistered firearm by a federal grand jury on Tuesday following a months-long investigation.
According to the arrest affidavit (via NBC News), the FBI began investigating Prieto in October after being flagged by a source whom he attempted to recruit in his plot to “advocate a mass shooting” of African Americans and other minorities.
“Prieto believes that martial law will be implemented shortly after the 2024 elections and that a mass shooting should occur first,” the source told FBI agents, adding that he was “ready to kill a group of people.”
During the investigation, Prieto allegedly attempted to recruit an undercover FBI agent to assist him with a mass shooting at a rap concert in Atlanta because there would be a higher concentration of African Americans in attendance.
Prieto allegedly went so far as to discuss with the source and the undercover agent what types of weapons he planned to use and suggested they stockpile weapons for the attack before the concert. During a series of meetings between January and May of this year, Prieto mentioned a pair of concerts at Atlanta's State Farm Arena on May 14 and 15 as potential targets.
Although authorities did not specify which concert, the two dates coincide with shows that Bad Bunny was scheduled to perform at the arena. Prieto even sold two AR-style rifles to the undercover agent for use during the attack.
Prieto was arrested on May 14 while in possession of seven firearms. He admitted to discussing his plot with the source and the undercover agent, as well as selling a firearm to use in the attack.
Each conviction for firearms trafficking and transferring a firearm for use in a hate crime carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for possession of an unregistered firearm has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
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