FBI Foils New Year’s Eve Plot to Bomb Southern California Company Sites, Arrests Four

Federal authorities say they arrested four people in the Lucerne Valley in the Mojave Desert after foiling an alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plot that targeted multiple Southern California logistics sites and companies.

“Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced Monday the arrest of four people from the Los Angeles area in an alleged plot to detonate synchronized IEDs at five locations on New Year’s Eve”

ABC7 San Francisco

Court papers name the defendants as Audrey Illeene Carroll (30), Zachary Aaron Page (32), Dante Gaffield (24) and Tina Lai (41).

ABC7 San Francisco

Prosecutors charged them with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device, and said agents intervened before a functional explosive device was completed.

Officials held a press conference in Los Angeles where prosecutors described the disruption as a coordinated, rehearsed effort and said additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.

Prosecutors say an eight-page handwritten plan titled "Operation Midnight Sun" described placing backpacks loaded with improvised explosive devices, described in court papers as "complex pipe bombs," at multiple logistics locations to detonate simultaneously at midnight on New Year's Eve.

The plan also envisioned using fireworks to mask the blasts.

Associated Press

Authorities say the plan included step-by-step IED construction instructions and a list of targets.

They also say suspects discussed future attacks on ICE agents and vehicles.

Court filings and press materials describe physical evidence recovered at a desert campsite and during searches of residences, including PVC pipe; suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur powders; fuses and other components; purchase records; and posters or flyers.

“This video can not be played Watch: Aerial video shows alleged explosive device testing A suspected New Year's Eve terror plot by an extremist group has been foiled by federal authorities in Los Angeles, officials say”

BBC

Surveillance footage shown by officials reportedly captured the suspects moving materials and beginning to assemble devices in the Mojave Desert, and prosecutors say the FBI’s Los Angeles SWAT and Hostage Rescue Team arrested the group without incident before an operational device was completed.

Authorities and prosecutors characterized the group as an offshoot of the pro-Palestinian Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) with pro-Palestinian, anti-government, and anti-capitalist rhetoric.

Court filings and social-media posts attributed to members included slogans urging decolonization and a working-class uprising.

CBC

Some reporting cited the group's own social descriptions, while officials and prosecutors labeled it a radical or extremist offshoot and in some cases used terms such as "far-left".

Federal prosecutors and law enforcement leaders publicly praised the multi‑agency operation that led to arrests.

“Federal authorities have arrested alleged suspects in a far-left domestic terror group that was planning to detonate a series of explosive devices on New Year’s Eve”

Christian Post

They said the disruption averted a potentially devastating attack, and Attorney General Pam Bondi along with FBI leaders described the plot in stark terms.

Christian Post

Officials said they recovered evidence, including purchase records, flyers and the handwritten plan, and warned that more charges and searches are possible as the probe continues.

Responses in commentary and on social media have been mixed, with some expressing skepticism about online reactions and others highlighting the preventive success.