Federal agents have detained 28-year-old Mark Lorenzo Villanueva of Long Beach, California, on suspicion of supplying ISIS with money and constructing what appeared to be a homemade bomb inside his home.
Neighbors told KTLA that they had no notion of Villanueva’s intentions and never had any doubts about him. “I am at a loss for what to think. It resembles a scar. Heliodoro Becerra said, “You see your neighbors, but you don’t see what they’re doing inside their house.”
Agents from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force reported discovering several knives and an improvised explosive device (IED) in Villanueva’s bedroom. The device was reportedly filled with ball bearings, covered in cellophane, and had red and black wires attached.
Rare Bomb Discovery and Online Allegiance
Federal agents in Long Beach, California, on August 1, 2025, arrested Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 28, and charged him with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization. According to the statement of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Villanueva did 12 Western Union money transmissions that sum up to $1,615 through intermediaries to persons he believed were ISIS fighters abroad.
In online conversations, he was supposedly heard saying, “It is an honor to fight and die for our faith… Someday soon, I shall be joining.” Notably, when agents searched his bedroom, they recovered what appeared to be an explosive device, along with knives and bomb-making materials.
Legal Consequence and National Security Implication
Villanueva is from the Philippines but is a lawful permanent resident in the US. He is accused of having committed a grave federal crime on which conviction may attract a punishment of up to 20 years of imprisonment. Acting US Attorney Bill Essayli stated that such an act posed a very serious threat to national security. Meanwhile, FBI spokesperson Patrick Grandy praised the prompt action by the Joint Terrorism Task Force and stated that the arrest added “one more stop on the track for a terror network.”
Villanueva was brought into federal court and is being held without bail. The next hearing is scheduled for September.
Why the case matters
The online pledges and monetary value associated with such a pledge, as per Villanueva’s practice, indicate how some Americans may try to associate themselves with extremist causes.
The presence of an apparent explosive inside his bedroom raises alarms that the allegedly financially supported activities can go further toward planned violence.
Charges and strict penalty invocation reinforce the U.S. zero-tolerance posture for terror-linked activities, domestically or otherwise.
