Federal authorities arrested four individuals over the weekend in connection with a planned series of bombings in Southern California on New Year’s Eve, officials announced Monday.
The suspects — Audrey Ilene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41 — are members of an offshoot of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), a pro-Palestinian extremist group, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A fifth person, whose identity has not been released, was apprehended in New Orleans while allegedly planning a separate attack.
Authorities described the threat as “credible” and “imminent,” reporting that the group intended to target five locations in Los Angeles, including two U.S. companies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles. Evidence presented in court documents showed the suspects had gathered bomb-making materials and traveled to a remote site in the Mojave Desert to construct and test improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Federal prosecutors charged all four California suspects with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device. Court filings indicated that one suspect, Carroll, provided a confidential source with a handwritten plan titled “Operation Midnight Sun”, outlining simultaneous detonation of IEDs at multiple locations at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Search warrants were executed nationwide as part of a “complex and coordinated” investigation. FBI Los Angeles Field Office Assistant Director Akil Davis emphasized the nationwide scope of the operation, while Attorney General Pam Bondi highlighted the collaborative effort, posting on X that the Department of Justice worked closely with the FBI to prevent “what would have been a massive and horrific terror plot.”
Officials noted the TILF, which describes itself as a pro-Palestinian, anti-government group, has used social media to call for “Free Palestine,” “Free Hawaii,” and “Free Puerto Rico,” while condemning U.S. authorities as part of an “illegal American empire.”
All four suspects are scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles for initial hearings, with additional charges expected as prosecutors continue reviewing evidence.
