Dec. 15 (UPI) — FBI officials arrested four people accused of being in a radical pro-Palestinian group plotting New Year’s Eve terror attacks on locations in California, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal officials “prevented what would have been a massive and horrific plot in the Central District of California (Orange County and Los Angeles).”
In a post on X, Bondi said the four suspects were members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, which she described as “a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group.” She said the group sought carry out a series of bombings on New Year’s Eve on targets including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the group planned IED bombings on five separate locations in Los Angeles, USA Today reported. He said FBI agents also arrested a fifth person allegedly linked to the group who was planning a separate attack in New Orleans.
Patel said work by the FBI on the case “undoubtedly saved countless lives.”
Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, identified the four arrested in California as Audrey Carroll, 30; Dante Gaffield, 24; Tina Ley, 41; and Zachary Aaron Page, 32. They each face charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles reported.
