Washington: Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on December 15 that the FBI had thwarted a “massive and horrific terror plot” allegedly orchestrated by an anti-government extremist group. The group, known as the “Turtle Island Liberation Front,” was reportedly planning a series of bombings across Orange County and Los Angeles, California, starting on New Year’s eve.
Bondi described the group as “far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist,” and said their plans also included targeting ICE agents and vehicles.
BREAKING BIG 🚨: The FBI has stopped a planned Islamic terrorist bombing in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.
Four suspects from a "PRO-PALESTINE EXTREMIST GROUP" are in custody.
They were planning IED attack at five different locations. pic.twitter.com/qcEQaovzXf
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) December 15, 2025
At a Los Angeles press conference December 15 morning, Bill Essayli, assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, and Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, announced the arrests of four individuals: Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41. Each has been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Essayli indicated that additional charges are expected to be filed against the suspects. According to Davis, the FBI intercepted the plot on Friday, describing it as “a scheme by members of a violent extremist group we believe were determined to detonate explosives at multiple businesses on New Year’s Eve.”
The four individuals arrested, described by Davis as “members of a radical faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, a violent homegrown anti-government group,” allegedly intended to plant backpacks containing improvised explosive devices at multiple locations in Southern California, targeting US companies.
The improvised explosive devices were reportedly set to detonate at midnight on New Year’s Eve, Davis said, adding that the suspects were arrested Friday by the FBI while allegedly assembling the devices in the desert.
Although he declined to name the companies allegedly targeted, Essayli described them as “logistics centers” and said the suspects reportedly planned attacks at “at least five” locations in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
According to the criminal complaint, in November, Carroll provided a confidential FBI source with a handwritten document titled Operation Midnight Sun, which detailed the plot to plant backpacks containing improvised explosive devices that would detonate simultaneously at midnight on New Year’s Eve, targeting two US companies.
The complaint states that Carroll and other participants formed a Signal chat called the “Order of the Black Lotus,” which Carroll described as a “radical” faction of the TILF, and used it to coordinate the bombing plot.
The planning document reportedly included meticulous instructions, detailing how the group would split into teams and place backpacks with IEDs at their “assigned buildings.” An “off-ground team member” would monitor police scanners in case law enforcement responded to any of the targeted locations.
According to the complaint, a search of Carroll’s residence uncovered posters and materials linked to the TILF, including one reading “DEATH TO ICE” and another stating “DEATH TO AMERICA, LONG LIVE TURTLE ISLAND & PALESTINE.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also announced that a fifth individual, “believed to be linked” to the Turtle Island Liberation Front, was arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate violent attack.
