According to a federal indictment, Mark Adams Prieto, a resident of Arizona, planned to carry out a mass shooting at a Bad Bunny concert in Atlanta in order to spark a racial conflict ahead of the US presidential election in 2024. After a months-long investigation, a federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Prieto on charges of trafficking in weapons, transferring a handgun for purposes in a hate crime, and possessing an unregistered firearm.
The FBI’s Probe Into The Matter
The FBI started looking into Prieto in October, according to the arrest affidavit (which was obtained by NBC News), when Prieto tried to enlist a source into his scheme who was “advocating for a mass shooting” of African Americans and other minorities.
The source informed FBI agents that Prieto was “ready to kill a bunch of people” and that he thought “martial law would be imposed soon after the 2024 election and that a mass shooting should occur beforehand”. Prieto is accused of trying to recruit an undercover FBI agent to assist him in carrying out a mass shooting at a rap concert in Atlanta, where he thought there would be a larger presence of African Americans, throughout the course of the investigation.
The accused is said to have discussed his intended weaponry with the undercover agent and source, suggesting that they be stored ahead of the performance. He identified two performances at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on May 14 and May 15 as possible objectives between January and May of this year.
Prieto’s Confession of Inciting The Attack At The Bad Bunny Concert
The dates matched, indicating that Bad Bunny was set to appear in the arena, even if the authorities did not specify which concert. In order to help the undercover agent with the attack, Prieto even sold him two AR-style guns. He confessed to discussing his plan with the undercover agent and FBI source, as well as selling them a gun that would be used in the attack, when he was apprehended on May 14th while in possession of seven firearms.
The maximum punishment for each conviction of trafficking in guns and transferring a firearm for use in a hate crime is fifteen years in prison, a $200,000, or both. The maximum punishment for being found guilty of possessing an unlicensed firearm is ten years in prison, a fine of $200,000, or both.
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