Federal authorities say they stopped a credible terrorist plot over the weekend, arresting four people accused of planning coordinated bomb attacks in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.
The suspects, taken into custody last week, are believed to be members of an anti-capitalist and anti-government extremist group known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front, or TILF, federal officials said Monday. According to the FBI, the group is driven by pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement and anti-government ideology.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the FBI said the suspects allegedly intended to carry out coordinated bombings using improvised explosive devices at five separate locations across Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. Authorities said the four were arrested in Lucerne Valley, where investigators believe they were preparing to test explosive devices ahead of the planned attacks. Each has been charged with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device.
The FBI also said Monday that a fifth person connected to the same extremist group was arrested in New Orleans for allegedly plotting a separate attack.
The four suspects arrested in California were identified as Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield and Tina Lai. According to federal officials, agents detained them in Lucerne Valley as they gathered in the desert to build pipe bombs.
Investigators said the group maintained an Instagram account with 939 followers that includes images featuring the phrases “Death to America” and “Peaceful Protest Will Never Be Enough.” A video posted to the account shows a woman who identifies herself only as “Mary” explaining the origin of the group’s name.
“So that’s what the natives called it — was Turtle Island,” the woman, whose face is concealed, says in the video. “So that’s the de-colonized name of the Americas. And Turtle Island Liberation Front is looking for reparations and land back for these indigenous groups.”
On Monday, officials released photos from a search of Carroll’s home showing posters and materials linked to TILF, including one that read “DEATH TO ICE” and another stating “DEATH TO AMERICA, LONG LIVE TURTLE ISLAND & PALESTINE.” Authorities said the anti-ICE poster also appeared on the group’s Instagram account, which investigators allege Carroll managed.
ABC7 reports that according to the criminal complaint, Carroll told an FBI informant that she kept a “notebook where I wrote down multiple plans that never happened … so it’s like my terrorist diary.”
Former FBI official Downing said plots involving small extremist groups can be difficult for law enforcement to penetrate.
“There are sources and methods to get into these groups, but it takes a long time,” he said.
The criminal complaint also alleges Carroll told investigators she had a contact who could help the group obtain unregistered firearms. She further claimed that one TILF member is a former military service member who might be able to secure weapon parts.
A TILF Instagram account states that the group’s founding chapter is based in Los Angeles and describes its mission as freeing “Turtle Island,” an Indigenous name for North America, from what it calls the “illegal American empire.”
“Free Palestine. Free Hawaii. Free Puerto Rico,” the account posted. “Freeing the world from American imperialism is the only way to a safe and peaceful future,” it continued.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that the Department of Justice worked with the FBI to stop the alleged terror plot in California’s Central District. She added that investigators believe the group was also planning to target U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles.
“This was an incredible effort by our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI to ensure Americans can live in peace,” Bondi wrote. “We will continue to pursue these terror groups and bring them to justice.”