LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A federal grand jury indicted four people on Tuesday in connection with a suspected terror plot to bomb targets in Los Angeles and Orange counties on New Year’s Eve.
The four suspects are Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante James Anthony-Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41. They are all from the Los Angeles area.
Each of them is charged with one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and one count of possession of unregistered firearms, the Department of Justice said in a statement.
Carroll and Page also are charged with one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, the DOJ said.
According to the indictment, the defendants are part of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), an anti-capitalist and anti-government group. They also are alleged members of what Carroll characterized as a “radical” TILF faction that communicated using an encrypted messaging group called “Order of the Black Lotus.”
In November, Carroll drafted an 8-page, handwritten document titled, “Operation Midnight Sun” that described a bombing plot targeting U.S. businesses across Southern California this upcoming New Year’s Eve, according to the DOJ. Among other things, the plot included details on the co-conspirators’ intended targets, instructions on how to manufacture bombs and source the bomb-making materials, and guidance for the co-conspirators to avoid leaving evidence behind that could be traced to them.
The DOJ said the New Year’s Eve bombing plot was designed to “completely pulverize” the targets, which included technology and logistics companies with offices across Southern California. After drafting the bombing plot, Carroll allegedly recruited others – including Page, Gaffield, and Lai – to join the attack plan.
“The charges a federal grand jury returned today reflect the seriousness of the conduct: a planned terrorist attack on American soil on New Year’s Eve,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “If convicted, this group of self-professed left-wing radicals will face decades in federal prison. We will continue to investigate and prosecute any and all terror groups and bring them to justice.”
According to authorities, throughout early December, the suspects procured bomb-making materials to build and test explosive devices in the Mojave Desert on December 12, including by obtaining bomb-making materials such as potassium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal, and pipes.
On December 12, they traveled to the Mojave Desert to build and test explosives that they planned to use as part of the New Year’s Eve plot, said the DOJ. The FBI arrested them before they could make functional explosive devices.
All four suspects are in federal custody without bond. All the defendants will be arraigned in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Lai’s arraignment is scheduled for January 2, 2026. Carroll and Page are scheduled to be arraigned on January 5, 2026. Gaffield’s arraignment is scheduled for January 20, 2026.
If convicted, Carroll and Page would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison, and Gaffield and Lai would face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.
A fifth person, believed to be linked to the group, has been arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate attack.
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