4 Members of ‘Extremist’ Group Arrested in Los Angeles New Year’s Eve Bombing Plot, FBI Says

Four people allegedly connected to a plan for multiple attacks in Southern California have been arrested, the FBI announced Monday, Dec. 15.

Tina Lai, 41; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Audrey Carroll, 30; and Dante Gaffield, 24, were charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Earlier that day, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau had “disrupted a credible, imminent terrorist threat,” alleging the group was planning coordinated improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on New Year’s Eve at five locations across Los Angeles.

Authorities said the four suspects “self-identified” as members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), which Patel described in the release as an extremist group driven by pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement, and anti-government ideology. Attorney General Pamela Bondi also said the group planned to target ICE agents and vehicles.

Patel added that a fifth person believed to be linked to TILF was arrested in New Orleans in connection with an alleged separate violent plot.

Prosecutors allege that in November 2025, Carroll provided co-conspirators with an eight-page handwritten document outlining a bombing plan titled “Operation Midnight Sun,” and acknowledged that the plan would be viewed as a terrorist act, according to the affidavit cited in the release.

The government further alleges that Carroll and Page recruited Gaffield and Lai, and that the group worked to obtain materials for the devices. Investigators also claim the suspects traveled to a remote area of the Mojave Desert on Friday, Dec. 12, where they began assembling and testing components before being arrested.

Patel said agents took the defendants into custody before a functional device was completed.

If convicted, the defendants could face up to 15 years in federal prison.

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating, with assistance from FBI field offices in Boston, Buffalo, and New Orleans. A request for comment was sent to the FBI.