An Arizona firearms dealer allegedly sold weapons to an undercover federal agent he believed would assist in his plan for a mass shooting targeting minorities, The Associated Press reports. The indictment suggests he aimed to "incite a race war" ahead of the presidential election in November. Mark Adams Prieto was indicted on charges of firearms trafficking, transferring a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm. The indictment says the 58-year-old from Prescott, Ariz., recruited the undercover FBI agent and an informant at a gun show where Prieto was a vendor. Prieto later identified a rap concert in Atlanta in mid-May for the attack, the indictment alleges.
The indictment says planning for the shooting began in January and took place over several months at gun shows around Arizona. At the gun shows, the indictment alleges, Prieto sold the agent two rifles to be used in the shooting. Prieto was arrested in New Mexico on May 14, around the time of the Atlanta concert, while driving east from Arizona. Authorities said they found seven firearms inside his vehicle. A federal judge ordered Prieto to remain in federal custody, saying the “seriousness of danger to the community is extreme” if he were released.
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