Grand Jury charges four people with plotting to detonate bombs in Los Angeles on NYE

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Tuesday charged four members of the anti-government group, Turtle Island Liberation Front, with plotting to detonate bombs across the city on New Year's Eve. 

The grand jury charged 30-year-old Audrey Carroll, 32-year-old Zachary Page, 24-year-old Dante James Anthony-Gaffield and 41-year-old Tina Lai with one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and one count of possession of unregistered firearms, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Carroll and Page were also charged with one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

“The charges a federal grand jury returned today reflect the seriousness of the conduct: a planned terrorist attack on American soil on New Year’s Eve,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “If convicted, this group of self-professed left-wing radicals will face decades in federal prison. We will continue to investigate and prosecute any and all terror groups and bring them to justice.”

The indictment accuses Carroll of writing an eight-page document titled “Operation Midnight Sun” that described a bombing plot targeting U.S. businesses across Southern California on New Year's Eve. 

The document included details on the intended targets, along with instructions on how to manufacture bombs and guidance to avoid leaving evidence that could be traced to the co-conspirators. 

Carroll allegedly shared the document with the other defendants through a messaging app and the group was arrested on Dec. 12 when traveling to the Mojave Desert to build and test the explosives they intended to use in the plot.

If convicted, Carroll and Page face up to life-in-prison, while Gaffield and Lai face a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.

All four defendants are in custody and being held without bail, the Justice Department said.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.