A Bad Bunny concert in Atlanta last month was targeted by an Arizona man who wanted to kill “African Americans and other minorities” in a twisted plot to “incite a race war,” the Justice Department said.
A federal grand jury indicted Mark Adams Prieto, 58, on charges of firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Arizona said in a news release on Tuesday, June 11.
Prosecutors said Prieto planned to carry out the attack ahead of the 2024 presidential election, but the FBI stepped in after he “had discussions” with two federal informants who alerted authorities.
“Prieto did not know the individuals were working with the government, but instead believed that they shared his racist beliefs and wanted to commit a mass shooting to incite a race war,” prosecutors said.
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The alleged plot was to carry out the attack at a Bad Bunny concert scheduled for May 14 and May 15, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The venue’s website shows the Puerto Rican rapper performed on those dates as part of his “Most Wanted Tour.”
Prieto is from Prescott, Arizona, a small retirement community of about 46,000 people — which is 89 percent white, 9 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent Black, according U.S. Census figures.
The criminal complaint, obtained by the Arizona Mirror, said Prieto spoke with one of the informants “over 15 times” at gun shows.
The complaint said Prieto initially just made small talk, but at some point he allegedly began to express a desire to target “Blacks, Jews, or Muslims.” The matter was brought to the FBI’s attention in October 2023.
The indictment alleges Prieto sold two rifles to one of the informants — an AK-style rifle on Feb. 25, 2024 and an AR-style rifle on March 24, 2024.
Prieto allegedly told the informants he wanted to carry out a mass shooting at a rap concert because “there would be a high concentration of African Americans.”
“You want to corral them. And some people might be trying to leave out of a corner, and you want to blast those guys,” prosecutors said Prieto told the pair.
Prieto allegedly said he “wanted to make clear the attack was racially motivated,” and planned to put Confederate flags around the venue after the shooting.
He allegedly chose Georgia for the attack, because it has become a “f–ked up state.”
“When I was a kid [Georgia] 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 n—rs move out of those places and moved to Atlanta,” he allegedly said.
According to prosecutors, Prieto believed martial law would be enacted after the 2024 election and the attack should take place before voters go to the polls.
The criminal complaint said FBI agents set up a surveillance operation and “closely monitored Prieto’s movements.”
On May 14, he was stopped by law enforcement while “driving east from Arizona through New Mexico along Interstate 40,” and was in possession of “seven firearms” when he was taken into federal custody, prosecutors said.
A search warrant was executed at his home in Prescott and reportedly turned up more firearms, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle.
If convicted as charged for firearms trafficking and transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, Prieto faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. A conviction for possession of an unregistered firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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