WASHINGTON (MNN); US authorities have filed criminal charges against four individuals accused of plotting a series of bomb attacks targeting multiple locations in California, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and their vehicles, officials said on Monday.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the suspects have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Attorney General Pam Bondi described the case as a disrupted bombing plan aimed at several targets.
Bondi said the accused were linked to a group calling itself the Turtle Island Liberation Front, which she described as a far-left, pro-Palestinian, anti-government and anti-capitalist organisation. Authorities allege the group intended to carry out coordinated bombings beginning on New Year’s Eve.
The complaint states that the suspects planned to plant explosive devices at five different locations in the Los Angeles area at midnight on December 31, targeting two US-based companies described by officials as large logistics centres. The group is also accused of planning future attacks on ICE agents and official vehicles.
The four defendants named in the case are Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30, Zachary Aaron Page, 32, Dante Gaffield, 24, and Tina Lai, 41. It was not immediately clear who would represent them in court.
Investigators allege that Carroll introduced the plot in November through an eight-page handwritten document titled “Operation Midnight Sun,” which was shared with a confidential informant. Prosecutors say Carroll and Page later recruited Gaffield and Lai to assist in executing the plan.
According to sworn statements, the group acquired bomb-making materials and travelled to a remote area of the Mojave Desert on December 12 to assemble and test explosive devices. FBI agents intervened before the suspects were able to construct a functional bomb.
Authorities said the defendants communicated through an encrypted messaging group named “Order of the Black Lotus,” which one participant described as radical. The complaint also alleges that the group discussed using pipe bombs against ICE agents in early 2026.
All four suspects were arrested on December 12. US Attorney for Los Angeles Bill Essayli said additional charges could be filed as investigators continue reviewing evidence. During a press conference, officials showed surveillance footage allegedly depicting the suspects handling precursor chemicals in the desert.
