(This story was updated to add new information and a new video.)
Federal authorities have arrested four alleged members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an extremist group accused of planning coordinated bombings across Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve, according to a Fox News report.
The suspects were taken into custody in Lucerne Valley in San Bernardino County, where investigators say they were preparing to test improvised explosive devices ahead of attacks on five separate locations. Each faces charges of conspiracy and possession of a destructive device.
They are, according to the FBI:
Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said his office intends to file additional charges in the coming weeks as evidence is reviewed. The four are all from the Los Angeles area, Essayli said during a news conference on Monday, Dec. 15.
He alleged that the four are “radical anti-government members” of the Turtle Island Liberation Front. According to Essayli, the four people are also members of a more radical faction of the group called the Order of the Black Lotus.
Carroll is alleged to have made in November a “detailed bombing plot to use explosive devices to attack five or more locations across Southern California,” Essayli said. The attack was to occur on midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.
Essayli said that Carroll’s plot listed “multiple targets” across Orange County and Los Angeles.
A person in Louisiana linked to the same group, although not directly tied to this incident, was arrested when authorities executed a search warrant and said “he posed a great threat” to agents, officials said during the news conference on Dec. 15.
The FBI describes TILF as a radical offshoot motivated by anti-government and pro-Palestinian ideology, with social media posts calling to “Free Turtle Island” and demanding independence for Palestine, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
Who were the targets of the planned LA terrorist attack?
According to a complaint provided to the USA TODAY Network, two U.S. companies were targeted in the alleged bombing plan. Essayli said the specific companies targeted are not being named but described them as logistic centers “like Amazon” during the news conference on Dec. 15.
Authorities arrested the four individuals on Dec. 12 amid their Mojave Desert trip, where they had planned to construct and test their explosive devices. Authorities also executed search warrants at their residences and seized materials associated with TILF at Carroll’s residence and a copy of a hand-written attack plan that detailed the planned NYE bombing at Page’s residence, according to the complaint.
‘A credible, imminent terrorist threat’
In an announcement on social media, In FBI Director Kash Patel posted the FBI disrupted a “credible, imminent terrorist attack” and praised investigators and law enforcement partners.
“Their work undoubtedly saved countless lives,” Patel wrote.
According to Patel, the group was allegedly planning coordinated IED bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve, targeting five separate locations across Los Angeles.
What is the Turtle Island Liberation Front?
Federal authorities describe the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) as a far-left extremist group motivated by pro-Palestinian, anti-government, anti-law-enforcement, and anti-capitalist ideology. The name “Turtle Island” refers to an Indigenous term for North America, and the group’s social media posts have called for “Free Turtle Island” and independence for regions such as Palestine, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
According to the complaint, “TILF advocates that liberalism and peaceful protest will be the downfall of those who believe it is enough, and that, ‘direct action is the only way.’”
Palm Springs police aided in investigation
No suspects were located in Palm Springs and the city was not a target, police said. But the Palm Springs Police Department provided logistical support for the FBI as it deployed teams to conduct arrests, city Police Chief Andy Mills told The Desert Sun.
The FBI based its operation out of the Palm Springs police training center, which is next to police headquarters. Mills was present at the press conference in Los Angeles on Monday, during which he said the department played a “very supportive” role in the operation.
“On a larger perspective, I just want this community to know that this gives me hope,” he said during the press conference. “It gives me hope because of the unified effort of all law enforcement, from the sheriff’s office to LAPD, San Bernardino Sheriff’s (Department) and the FBI working together to make sure that people like this are removed from the community so that they can be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to make sure that all of us can live in peace.”
Desert Sun staff writer Sam Morgen contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Report: FBI foils New Year’s Eve terror plot targeting Los Angeles
Reporting by James Ward and Paris Barraza, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
