A man in Arizona was arrested in May for planning to executre a mass shooting at a rap show in Atlanta. His plan was to begin a race war.
According to WSB-TV 2 Atlanta, Mark Adams Prieto sold rifles to people in preparation for a race war ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election. Apprehended by orders of the United States Department of Justice, Prieto was indicted by a federal grand jury, the result of a months long investigation led by the FBI.
The investigation into Prieto begin in Oct. 2023 as a reliable source revealed Prieto “expressed a desire to incite a race war prior to the 2024 United States Presidential Election.”
Investigation led to conversations at gun shows where he began to advocate for the mass shooting of “Blacks, Jews or Muslims.” The insider told the FBI that “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.”
Prieto was surveilled from January to March and sent in undercover agents to speak with him, eventually uncovering his idea. Prieto did not have a show identified but had a focus on Atlanta, State Farm Arena and the African-American community. Court docs quote him to stating:
“The reason I say Atlanta. Why, why is Georgia such a [expletive]-up state 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.”
Part of Prieto’s plan was to leave behind Confederate flags as a sign that “whitey” is the enemy across the country and planned to shout “KKK all the way.”
Prieto was arrested driving through New Mexico on a trip to visit his mother in Florida. He was carrying seven firearms. An executed search warrant at his home uncovered more guns, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle.
He is facing charges of firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession fo an unregistered firearm.
Justice officials stated that each conviction for trafficking firearms and transferring firearms for a hate crime carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Additionally, a conviction for possession of an unregistered firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Each charge can also lead to a maximum of 15 years in federal prison.
Being convicted of possessing an unregistered firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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