Image: from Matt Finn X@MattFinnFNC
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities announced Monday they have successfully disrupted a major terror plot aimed at crippling commerce and targeting federal agents across Southern California on New Year’s Eve. Four alleged members of an extremist, far-left group were arrested last week on suspicion of planning a coordinated bombing campaign.
The four suspects—identified as Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41—face charges including conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The suspects are alleged members of a radical offshoot of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), a group described by Attorney General Pam Bondi as a “far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist” organization.
The bombing plot, codenamed “OPERATION MIDNIGHT SUN,” was explicit and detailed in an eight-page handwritten document allegedly created by Carroll. The plan called for:
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Coordinated Bombings: Planting backpacks containing “complex pipe bombs” at five locations, simultaneously detonating them at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
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Targeting Logistics: The primary targets were two U.S. companies described as large “Amazon-type” logistics centers in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
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Exploiting the Holiday: The plan noted New Year’s Eve was an opportune time because “fireworks will be going off at this time, so explosions will be less likely to be noticed.”
🚨 BREAKING: FBI just held a press conference announcing they FOILED a massive New Year's Eve terror bombing plot in Southern California by far-left radicals!
The four arrested "Turtle Island Liberation Front" (TILF) members — all from the LA area:
– Audrey Caroll, 30 (leader… pic.twitter.com/Ps0i40BGNO
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) December 15, 2025
In addition to the New Year’s Eve attack, the group allegedly discussed plans for follow-up attacks in January or February targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and vehicles with pipe bombs. Carroll was quoted in the complaint as saying, “That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them.”
The FBI and LAPD moved in last Friday, arresting the quartet in the desert east of Los Angeles, near the city of Twentynine Palms. Officials disclosed that the suspects had traveled to the remote location with bomb-making materials, including PVC pipes, potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulfur powder, and fuse materials, for the purpose of constructing and testing improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
A surveillance plane captured aerial footage of the suspects’ movements before the Los Angeles FBI SWAT team moved in and apprehended the group without incident. The arrests were made before the suspects could complete the assembly of a functional explosive device.
“The successful disruption of this plot is a powerful testament to the strength of our unified response,” said LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. Attorney General Pam Bondi took to X to praise the agencies for preventing what would have been a “massive and horrific terror plot.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also noted that a fifth individual linked to the TILF offshoot was arrested in New Orleans over the weekend for allegedly planning a separate, violent attack. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to identify any other potential associates.