Federal authorities in the United States have arrested five individuals accused of planning a series of 'terrorist' attacks in Southern California during New Year's celebrations, Attorney General Pam Bondi reported on Monday.
'Following an intense investigation, the Department of Justice, in coordination with the FBI, thwarted what would have been a massive and heinous terrorist plot in the Central District of California (Orange and Los Angeles counties),' Bondi wrote.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced in a post on platform X the arrest of a fifth individual, who is also allegedly linked to the 'extremist' group. The individual was arrested in New Orleans, where they were planning a 'separate violent attack.'
In preparation for the attack, the suspects traveled to the Mojave Desert in southeastern California this weekend to conduct explosive tests before being arrested by the FBI, according to court documents.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Bill Essayli, for his part, linked the arrests to an effort by the Trump administration 'to extinguish left-wing terrorist threats' in the U.S.
The detainees were allegedly part of a 'left-wing, pro-Palestinian, anti-government, and anti-capitalist' group and planned a series of explosions in 'several parts of California' as well as attacks against agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Bondi indicated in a post on platform X.
The bombs were targeted at 'two U.S. companies' that are not named in the documents.
The FBI identified the Turtle Island Liberation Front as the organization responsible for planning these alleged attacks.
In court documents filed in California, authorities identified the four detainees in that state as Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai.
On Instagram, where they have 862 followers and have been posting content since this summer, they have shared images related to protests against Trump's immigration policies, in support of Palestine, and against capitalism.
In addition to the New Year's plans, two of the detainees discussed ideas for attacking ICE agents and vehicles in January and February of next year with the aim of 'getting rid of some and scaring the rest,' according to the documents.
On social media pages associated with this group, which, according to authorities, were run by Carroll, it is described as an organization of 'liberation' through 'decolonization and sovereignty.'
The plan, as detailed in the complaint, had been called 'Operation Midnight Sun' and instructed participants to plant backpacks with homemade explosives in five different locations simultaneously on December 31st.
