FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Monday that a terrorist attack planned by the far-left organization Turtle Island Liberation Front had been thwarted. The activists were allegedly planning to detonate five explosive devices in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.
“Over the past weekend, the FBI disrupted a credible and imminent terrorist threat and arrested four individuals connected to Los Angeles. They were allegedly planning coordinated bomb attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on New Year’s Eve, targeting five different locations in Los Angeles,” Patel stated on X.
During a press conference on the operation, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reported that investigators had thwarted a potentially “powerful and deadly” terrorist attack. Four suspects belonging to the anti-government and far-left organization Turtle Island Liberation Front were detained in connection with the case. The group was allegedly led by 30-year-old Audrey Carroll. The other members were identified as Zachary Aaron Page (32), Donte Gaffield (24), and Tina Le (41).
According to investigators, the group’s plans involved the simultaneous detonation of five bombs aimed at U.S. companies, the names of which were not disclosed.
On its Facebook page, the organization stated, among other things, that it “opposes American imperialism.” Turtle Island is a name for the American continent used by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. The group reportedly had just over 30 followers on Facebook.
Among the seized evidence and materials collected by investigators were bomb-making components, as well as a video recording of a bomb detonation test conducted in the Mojave Desert. Investigators also presented banners, including one bearing the slogan: “Death to America, long live Turtle Island and Palestine.”
In addition to the four individuals arrested in California, a fifth member of the group was also detained in New Orleans. According to Bondi, beyond the planned attacks in Los Angeles, the group was also preparing assaults on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).