Mark Prieto, 58, of Prescott, Arizona, would later tell cops he wasn’t serious when he told an FBI informant at a gun show that he wanted to incite a race war before the 2024 election by shooting up an Atlanta rap concert.
Nobody should believe that. When somebody tells strangers he’s trying to recruit as co-conspirators,
“You want to corral them. And some people might be trying to leave out of a corner, and you want to blast those guys. Once [they] get the idea that they are trapped, then there is pandemonium. Now they’re in a panic. And they can’t get out. Now they are going to be crawling over each other to get out,”
which is what Prieto told the informant and an undercover FBI agent, this shows planning, and shouldn’t be taken as idle talk. Prieto also talked about leaving Confederate flags behind and other actions to “ensure the attack was seen as racially motivated” (see story here). He was arrested driving to Florida, where he has family, with 7 guns in his car (see story here).
Because he was nabbed before he could carry out his plans, the most time he can get is 15 years on the gun charges. But the legal system should treat him as someone who intended to commit mass murder of innocent people.
I couldn’t find any background on this defendant. I don’t know how he made a living, whether he has a wife and children, or where his hate came from. All I know is there are people like him out there, and that should worry all of us.
It also says to me the Supreme Court and Republicans are putting everyone in danger with their laissez-faire gun policies.
Below: Surveillance photo of Mark Prieto
