Four people face conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device charges for a foiled bomb plot targeting multiple locations in Los Angeles, including U.S. immigration agents and their vehicles.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests, stating, “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.”
The big picture: The group allegedly planned to plant explosives at five locations, including two major U.S. companies’ facilities at midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to the U.S. District Court complaint.
- Defendants include Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai.
Driving the news: The plot’s details emerged from an eight-page handwritten document titled “Operation Midnight Sun,” which Carroll reportedly presented to a paid confidential source in November.
- Carroll and Page allegedly recruited the other two suspects and together acquired bomb-making materials, traveling to the Mojave Desert to test explosives on Dec. 12.
- FBI agents intervened before the group could assemble a working bomb.
Go deeper: The “Turtle Island Liberation Front – LA Chapter” described itself online as “devoted to Liberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty,” and was characterized in the complaint as “an anti-capitalist, anti-government movement.”
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli indicated that more charges are likely as evidence is reviewed, noting all four were arrested December 12 and that investigators have obtained surveillance footage of desert bomb-making activities.
The four suspects communicated in a Signal chat called “Order of the Black Lotus,” described as “radical.”
The complaint alleges the group also discussed using pipe bombs against ICE agents and vehicles in early 2026, with Carroll allegedly saying, “That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them.”
