Federal authorities have foiled an alleged New Year’s Eve bomb plot in Southern California following the arrests of four people in San Bernardino County, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
The defendants were arrested Friday in Lucerne Valley and were allegedly connected with Turtle Island Liberation Front, an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group, DOJ officials said.
The four suspects were identified as Audrey Carroll, 30, of South Los Angeles; Zachary Aaron Page, 32, of Torrance; Dante Gaffield, 24, of South LA; and Tina Lai, 41, of Glendale.
Each are charged in Los Angeles federal court with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. The four were expected to appear before a magistrate judge Monday afternoon in downtown LA.
FBI officials said a fifth person believed to be connected to the same group was arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate attack.
The California suspects were arrested Friday in the Mojave Desert as they unloaded bomb-making materials from their cars. They allegedly were preparing to construct and test explosives intended for attacks throughout the region at logistics businesses, according to the DOJ.
Officials said Carroll developed a detailed plan last month to bomb at least five locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve.
“The Turtle Island Liberation Front — a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group — was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “This was an incredible effort by our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI to ensure Americans can live in peace. We will continue to pursue these terror groups and bring them to justice.”
Prosecutors allege the plot included planting backpacks filled with explosive devices at multiple businesses that were set to blow up simultaneously at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
The group also allegedly planned to target U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in January or February, said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
“Carroll stated that some of those plans would quote ‘take some of them out and scare the rest,'” Essayli told reporters Monday.
Essayli also said the suspects were arrested in the desert near Twentynine Palms before they were able to finish making an actual explosive. Court documents include photos showing a campsite with what prosecutors say were bomb-making materials placed on folding tables.
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles bureau, said group members “were determined to detonate explosives at multiple businesses” at the same time at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
“The subjects arrested envisioned planting backpacks with improvised explosive devices to be detonated at multiple locations in Southern California targeting U.S. companies,” he said Monday.
Search warrants resulted in the discovery of posters for the Turtle Island Liberation Front at Carroll’s home that said “Death to America,” and “Death to ICE,” according to Essayli. A copy of the detailed bomb plan was found in Page’s home, officials alleged.
“The successful disruption of this plot is a powerful testament to the strength of our unified response,” Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said.
If convicted, the defendants would face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy count and up to 10 years on the unregistered destructive device possession allegation, according to the DOJ.
