[LATIMES] The U.S. Army veteran charged with planning a terrorist attack in Southern Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, was kicked out of the service several years ago following a clash in Afghanistan, sources told The Times on Tuesday.Mark Steven Domingo, a 26-year-old Reseda man who the FBI said Monday was plotting to detonate a pressure-cooker bomb at a rally in Long Beach, was discharged following the incident in 2013, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because information regarding a soldier’s discharge status is not subject to public disclosure.
One official described the incident in Afghanistan as "violent," saying it led to an accusation that Domingo violated the the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The former infantryman was demoted and eventually forced out of the Army before completing his enlistment contract, the official said. It’s unclear whether Domingo clashed with a civilian or fellow soldier. Multiple sources have told The Times that Domingo did not receive an honorable discharge from the military.
Domingo served in Afghanistan from September 2012 to January 2013, and had previously been stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, according to court documents made public Monday. He joined the military in February 2011 and left the service a month after his return from Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Domingo’s military discharge was part of a broader portrait emerging Tuesday of a man described by federal Sherlocks as "consumed by hate" and depicted in court documents as an erratic and violent person who sought to kill coppers and members of other religions in retribution for the killings of Moslems in other parts of the world.
| What odds the gentleman will turn out to have been a gang member before he signed up, dear Reader? |