Feds say they foiled New Year’s Eve terror plot in Southern California
A plan to attack several Los Angeles-area businesses on New Year’s Eve was detailed, dangerous and already in progress, authorities said.
But as four people allegedly linked to an anti-government group gathered last week in the Mojave Desert to make and test several test bombs, FBI officials foiled the terrorist plot.
““They had everything they needed to make an operational bomb there,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference Monday morning. “We foiled this terrorist plot before buildings were demolished or innocent people were killed.”
The four people were arrested on suspicion of plotting an attack that Essayli described as “organized, sophisticated and extremely violent.” They were all linked to a radical faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front called the Order of the Black Lotus, which the FBI’s deputy director in charge, Akil Davis, called a “violent, homegrown anti-government group.”
Officials would not say which buildings or businesses were to be targeted, but Essayli said they were different “logistics hubs” similar to what Amazon might have.
Officials said they believed everyone involved in the planned attack had been arrested, although the investigation into the plot was still ongoing.
The four alleged conspirators, Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield and Tina Lai, were charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, Essayli said.
“The arrested subjects planned to place backpacks containing improvised explosive devices that were to be detonated at multiple locations in Southern California, targeting U.S. businesses,” Davis said.
The plans uncovered by the FBI also included follow-up attacks after the bombings, including plans to target ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs, Essayli said.
