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Federal authorities said Monday that they foiled a plot to bomb multiple U.S. companies on New Year’s Eve in Southern California, announcing the arrests of members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group.
The four suspects were arrested Friday as they were testing explosives in the desert east of Los Angeles, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference.
Officials showed reporters surveillance aerial footage of the four suspects moving a large black object in the desert to a table shortly before their arrests.
In the criminal complaint, the four suspects named are Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41. They are all from the Los Angeles area, Essayli said.
Officials did not describe a motive but said they are members of an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group dubbed the Turtle Island Liberation Front.
WATCH | Police make 5 arrests in alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plot:
FBI makes 5 arrests in alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plots
Four people are facing criminal charges in Los Angeles in connection with what Attorney General Pam Bondi described as a foiled bomb plot that contemplated multiple targets, including U.S. immigration agents and their vehicles. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that a fifth person has been arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a linked but separate violent attack.
Each faces charges including conspiracy and possession of a destructive device, Essayli said, adding that additional charges were expected in coming weeks.
It wasn’t immediately clear if they had attorneys, and The Associated Press was unable to reach family members.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that a fifth person has been arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a linked but separate violent attack.
‘Multiple targets’
Essayli said Carroll last month created a detailed plan to bomb five or more locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve and was trying to hit multiple companies. He declined to name the companies but described them as “Amazon-type” logistical centres.
“Carroll’s bomb plot was explicit,” Essayli said. “It included step-by-step instructions to build IEDs … and listed multiple targets across Orange County and Los Angeles.”
The plan included planting backpacks filled with explosive devices at multiple businesses that were set to blow up simultaneously at midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to officials and the criminal complaint.
Two of the group’s members also had discussed plans for future attacks including targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in 2026, according to the criminal complaint.
“Carroll stated that some of those plans would quote ‘take some of them out and scare the rest,'” Essayli said.
Photos of the four suspects are shown on a screen during a news conference on Monday. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)
The plans were discussed both at an in-person meeting with members in Los Angeles and through an encrypted messaging app, Essayli said.
Evidence photos included in the court documents show a desert campsite with what investigators said were bomb-making materials strewn across plastic folding tables.
The suspects “all brought bomb-making components to the campsite, including various sizes of PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder, and material to be used as fuses, among others,” the complaint states.
Rehearsed their attack in the desert
The plan stated that the backpacks would contain complex pipe bombs and included instructions on how to manufacture them and also how to avoid leaving behind evidence tracing anything back to the group, officials said. The suspects recently had acquired precursor chemicals and other items, they added.
Last week, they were rehearsing their attack and testing devices in the desert near Twentynine Palms, Calif., before federal authorities moved in, officials said.
“They had everything they needed to make an operational bomb at that location,” he said.
Officials stand in front of aerial images of the four suspects moving a large black object in the desert to a table shortly before their arrests. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)
Authorities issued search warrants and found posters for the Turtle Island Liberation Front at Carroll’s home that called for “Death to America” and “Death to ICE,” Essayli said. In Page’s residence, police found a copy of the detailed bomb plan, he added.
Los Angeles police Chief Jim McDonnell said while federal and local officials disagree on the Trump administration’s immigration raids, they come together still to protect residents. The LAPD does not stop people or take action for any reason related to immigration status, and it doesn’t enforce immigration laws, a practice that has been in place for 45 years.
“The successful disruption of this plot is a powerful testament to the strength of our unified response,” McDonnell said.
The suspects, who were taken into custody without incident, were scheduled to appear in court in Los Angeles Monday afternoon.
