5 arrested in California and Louisiana in alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plot

Five people were arrested after federal authorities disrupted what they described as a planned series of improvised explosive device attacks in Los Angeles timed for New Year’s Eve, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.

The arrests were announced on Monday following an investigation led by the FBI and federal prosecutors in the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to the Justice Department.

Four suspects were arrested Friday in the Mojave Desert, and a fifth person was arrested separately in Louisiana in the days that followed, officials said.

The Justice Department said the four individuals arrested in California are charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

Prosecutors allege they were part of an extremist group known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front and were planning coordinated bombings targeting two U.S. companies in the Los Angeles area on New Year’s Eve.

According to court records, investigators said the group took steps toward carrying out the alleged plot, including acquiring materials for improvised explosive devices and traveling to the Mojave Desert on December 12 to test explosives. FBI agents intervened before any functional device was completed, authorities said.

“The Turtle Island Liberation Front — a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group — was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said the investigation disrupted what he described as a credible and imminent threat and resulted in the arrest of a fifth individual in Louisiana believed to be linked to the same extremist organization. Authorities said that person was not part of the California bombing plan but was allegedly planning a separate violent attack.

The four defendants arrested in California are Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. All four made their initial appearances Monday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.