The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Monday, 15 December 2025, that it successfully thwarted a terror attack targeting Southern California. Officials said the suspects were planning ‘massive’ and ‘horrific’ bombings on New Year’s Eve.
The FBI confirmed it has arrested four individuals in connection with the planned attack. The suspects are allegedly part of a radical, pro-Palestine, anti-government, far-left extremist group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF). They were apprehended in a desert east of Los Angeles while allegedly practising the assembly of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Coordinated Bombing Plot Detailed
A joint investigation by the FBI and the Department of Justice uncovered a coordinated plan to simultaneously detonate bombs at multiple locations across Los Angeles and Orange County at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
The main targets were American companies, which officials described as logistics hubs similar to Amazon facilities. Federal law enforcers revealed that one of the suspects crafted a meticulous scheme that included step-by-step instructions for building complex pipe bombs and a list of at least five locations where the explosives were to be planted. A handwritten plan found by investigators detailed a plot to place backpacks filled with bombs at two companies.
Follow-Up Attacks on ICE Agents Planned
The New York Post reported that in addition to the bombing plot, dubbed ‘Operation Midnight Sun,’ the FBI discovered the suspects were also set to carry out follow-up attacks targeting members of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed in a statement that the suspects allegedly planned to use pipe bombs to attack ICE agents and their vehicles.
‘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,’ Garland said in a statement. ‘The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles.’
The group’s social media posts push for the ‘liberation of occupied Turtle Island’ (North America) and strongly criticise US police, large corporations, and ‘imperialism,’ often using slogans like ‘DEATH TO ICE!!!’
Suspects Arrested in Desert Training
The arrests took place late last week in Lucerne Valley, a remote desert location within San Bernardino County. FBI surveillance showed the suspects collecting materials such as PVC pipes, charcoal, potassium nitrate, and sulphur powder to assemble the bombs. Authorities arrested the group as they gathered the components, just before they could test the improvised explosives.
‘This operation successfully neutralised a credible and imminent threat to the people of Southern California,’ said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. ‘The level of planning and the destructive capability of the intended devices demonstrate a clear intent to cause mass casualties.’
The four suspects arrested in California were identified as Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai. They have all been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. If convicted, the suspects could face lengthy federal prison sentences. Meanwhile, a fifth individual, believed to be connected to the same extremist group, was arrested by the FBI in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate violent attack unrelated to the California bombings. The arrests come amid a period of heightened vigilance by federal law enforcement agencies, which have warned of an increased threat from domestic extremist groups motivated by a range of ideologies.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
