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Federal authorities in Los Angeles foiled a New Year’s Eve terror plot by a suspected extremist group, officials said.
Four suspected members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an offshoot of the pro-Palestinian rebel group, have been arrested on suspicion of planning coordinated bombings at at least five locations in Southern California, the FBI and Los Angeles law enforcement said Monday.
The suspect was arrested last week while traveling to the desert east of Los Angeles to test an improvised explosive device, officials said.
The FBI believes it has “disrupted the conspiracy” but is conducting an investigation to identify other potential suspects.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Sunday that the agencies prevented “far-left” extremists from carrying out “massive and horrific terrorist plots.”
Audrey Irene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Garfield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41, face charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Officials told a media conference on Monday that the gang traveled to the desert on December 12 carrying “precursor chemicals” with the alleged intention of using their items to make bombs.
A surveillance plane captured their movements, and the Los Angeles FBI SWAT team, along with the FBI, moved in and arrested the four men without incident.
The bombing plot involved placing explosive devices at midnight on New Year’s Eve in the Los Angeles area targeting the sites of two U.S. companies known as logistics centers.
The group also allegedly discussed attacking Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in January or February, the indictment said.
“It’s going to take some of them away and scare the rest of them,” Carroll allegedly said.
“The successful foiling of this plot is a powerful testament to the power of our unified response,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonald, adding that the efforts of coalition agencies “prevented a potential tragedy and reaffirmed our shared commitment to protecting our community.”
