California Man Arrested for ISIS Funding, Explosives Found

Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, a 28-year-old lawful permanent resident from the Philippines living in Long Beach, California, was arrested for allegedly attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Over five months, he sent a dozen payments totaling $1,615 through intermediaries overseas to suspected ISIS fighters, while communicating with them via social media and expressing his desire to join and fight for the terrorist organization. Villanueva told ISIS fighters that it was an honor to fight and die for their faith and claimed to possess a bomb and knives, with an apparent explosive device recovered from his bedroom during the FBI raid. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison on charges of supporting a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities emphasized the seriousness of supporting terrorist groups for national security and praised law enforcement efforts to disrupt such threats. This arrest is part of a broader crackdown on suspected ISIS sympathizers within the United States.