FBI Prevents Coordinated Bombing Attack in Southern California

A suspected New Year's Eve terror plot by an extremist group has been foiled by federal authorities in Los Angeles, officials say.

Four alleged members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front - an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian anti-government group - have been arrested on suspicion of planning a coordinated bombing attack in at least five locations across Southern California, the FBI and LA law enforcement said on Monday.

The suspects were apprehended last week while traveling to the desert east of Los Angeles to test improvised explosive devices, officials said.

The FBI believes it has disrupted the plot, but an investigation to identify other potential suspects is ongoing.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on X that the agencies prevented 'far-left' extremists from executing 'a massive and horrific terror plot.'

Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41, face charges including conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

On December 12, the group travelled to the desert with 'precursor chemicals' and were allegedly going to create bombs with their wares, officials said during a media conference on Monday.

A surveillance plane captured footage of their movements, resulting in the Los Angeles FBI SWAT team intervening and arresting the quartet without incident.

The bombing plot involved explosive devices aimed at two U.S. companies, identified as logistic centers, in Los Angeles at midnight on New Year's Eve. The group also allegedly discussed targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in the following months.

Carroll allegedly said, 'That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them.'

'The successful disruption of this plot is a powerful testament to the strength of our unified response,' said LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, underscoring the collaboration among law enforcement in safeguarding communities.