How FBI foiled big New Year Eve’s terror plot targeting Los Angeles

It’s the holiday season. But the Brown University shooting in the US and the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia have spread a pall of gloom across continents. Now, a New Year’s Eve terror plot has been foiled by federal authorities in Los Angeles. It was being planned by Turtle Island Liberation Front, an offshoot of a pro-Palestine anti-government group.     

According to officials, the group was planning a series of bombs targeting  US companies around the Los Angeles area. Four alleged members of Turtle Island Liberation Front have been arrested.

What is Turtle Island Liberation Front? 

The Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) is a little-known far-left, anti-government group. It has quietly been raising funds and resources to usher in a “revolutionary change in government”, according to a report by the  New York Post.

The group has an Instagram page with over 900 followers and features images with phrases like “Death to America” and “Peaceful Protest Will Never Be Enough”. Even messages like “Death to ICE!!!” are posted on its social platforms.

According to an FBI affidavit, the group calls for “the working class to rise up and fight back against capitalism”. “Moreover, TILF advocates that liberalism and peaceful protest will be the downfall of those who believe it is enough, and that ‘direct action is the only way.’” 

This group gets its name from “Turtle Island”, an Indigenous term for North America, used particularly by Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee. It stems from the belief that the continent was built on a giant turtle’s back.    

How FBI foiled New Year’s Eve attack plan  

Federal authorities have arrested four suspects who were allegedly practising how to build explosive devices. They have been identified as Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41.

The suspects were held last week while travelling to the desert area of Los Angeles with “precursor chemicals”. They were allegedly heading there to create bombs with their wares, officials said during a press conference on Monday (December 15).    

Their movements were captured in a surveillance plane. Officials showed the media this footage, wherein the suspects were seen moving a large black object to the table.  

Photos included in court documents show the desert campsite with what investigators said were bomb-making materials strewn across plastic folding tables. 

The suspects “all brought bomb-making components to the campsite, including various sizes of PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder, and material to be used as fuses, among others,” the complaint states.

However, before they could build a functional bomb, the group was caught.  The FBI, along with the Los Angeles FBI Swat team, moved in and arrested the four.

What were the four suspects planning?

According to a criminal complaint, the quartet were planning to target two companies at five different locations in Los Angeles, describing the firms as “engaged in activities affecting interstate and foreign commerce”.  

While talking to the media about the foiled plot, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that TILF also planned to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE)  and vehicles.

The complaint said two suspects,  Carroll and Zachary, discussed plans for attacks after New Year’s Eve, which included attacking immigration agents with pipe bombs. Carroll allegedly said, “That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them.”  

The plans were discussed both in person with members in Los Angeles and through an encrypted messaging app, Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney, said during the presser.  

According to the criminal complaint, Carroll allegedly told an FBI informant that she “has a notebook where I wrote down multiple plans that never happened, so it’s like my terrorist diary," reported  ABC.   

On Monday, officials also released the photos from a search of Carroll’s home, which featured images and materials associated with TILF, including one reading “DEATH TO ICE” and another reading “DEATH TO AMERICA, LONG LIVE TURTLE ISLAND & PALESTINE."   

What happens next? 

The FBI and the US Justice Department revealed that the bombing plot was called, “OPERATION MIDNIGHT SUN”. 

FBI Director Kash Patel took to X to share the news about the arrest. “Over the weekend, the FBI disrupted a credible, imminent terrorist threat and arrested FOUR individuals connected to the Los Angeles area,” he said.  

There were four suspects have been charged with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device. Additional charges are expected.

They are in custody and appeared in a court in LA on Monday afternoon. 

With inputs from agencies