Plans for New Year’s Eve terror attacks in Los Angeles thwarted, says FBI

Four alleged terrorists have been arrested by the FBI for planning a series of New Year’s Eve bomb attacks across Los Angeles.

The suspects are “radical, anti-government members” of the Turtle Island Liberation Front – “an anti-capitalist, anti-government movement that calls for associates to rise up and fight back against capitalism,” according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. They were allegedly planning to bomb five separate locations in America’s second largest city, according to the FBI.

The four individuals – Audrey Carroll (30), Zachary Page (32), Dante Gaffield (24) and Tina Lai (41) – were arrested in Lucerne Valley, California, with materials reading “Death to America,” “Death to ICE,” “Free Palestine” and “America is Fascist.” Each person had been charged with “conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device,” Essayli said. 

TILF, the pro-Palestinian terrorist organization founded in Los Angeles, promotes “liberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty,” according to one chapter’s Instagram.  

Turtle Island is an Indigenous name to describe North America, which the organization claims is under siege by the “illegal American empire,” Fox News reports. 

Carroll, one of the accused terrorists, is a member of a sub-group to TILF: The Order of the Black Lotus, which the woman described as “everything radical,” according to Essayli. She allegedly told the other suspects, “What we are doing will be considered a terrorist act.” 

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the group was also planning attacks against United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles. Carroll allegedly said they would “take some of them out and scare the rest,” referring to ICE agents, Essayli said.  

A fifth individual, believed to be aligned with TILF, was arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate attack, Fox reported. 

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the Department of Justice and Los Angeles FBI for saving “countless lives.” He said Los Angeles FBI will hold a press conference later Monday. 

“This was an incredible effort by our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the @FBI to ensure Americans can live in peace,” Bondi said in a post on X. “We will continue to pursue these terror groups and bring them to justice.”