Man seeking to spark ‘race wars’ arrested before Atlanta concert filming

An Arizona man who sought to start a “race war” was arrested before he could carry out his plans for a mass shooting at an Atlanta concert featuring Bad Bunny.

Fox 5 Atlanta reports that Mark Adams Prieto, 58, was indicted Tuesday, June 11, by a federal grand jury on charges of trafficking in firearms, transferring a firearm for use in a hate crime and possessing an unregistered firearm . Prieto was reportedly in talks with two individuals to help plan the shooting between January and May 2024. Fortunately, both were undercover FBI agents.

Prieto’s goal, according to the indictment, was to target a rap concert because “there would be a high concentration of African Americans.” Although there is no mention of which artist, the dates indicate that Prieto planned to carry out the massacre at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena during a Bad Bunny concert on May 15.

Authorities say the investigation began in January after Prieto told another man at a gun show that he wanted to “incite a race war before the 2024 U.S. presidential election.” Himself a salesman at the Crossroads of the West gun show, Prieto traded his personal firearms for upgrades, using cash to avoid interference from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Arms fire and explosives.

On January 21, he revealed to the source and an undercover FBI agent that he needed help to carry out this heinous act, specifically targeting Atlanta due to its high population of African Americans. After the shooting, he also planned to shout phrases such as “KKK all the way” while leaving Confederate flags throughout the arena.

Prieto was stopped by authorities on May 14 on a New Mexico highway, and officers found seven firearms in his vehicle. A search of his home subsequently uncovered other firearms, including an unregistered short-barreled shotgun. During questioning, Prieto claimed he was on his way to Florida to see his mother, and had no plans to stop in Atlanta. However, he admitted to discussing the attack and selling an AR-15 to the FBI agent, telling him it would be “a good weapon to use in the attack.”

Prieto faces up to 15 years in prison on each charge of gun trafficking and transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, if convicted. He faces up to 10 years in prison for possessing an unregistered firearm and could be fined up to $250,000 for each charge.

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