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FBI arrests five in ‘credible’ pro-Palestinian plot to bomb LA, New Orleans on New Year’s Eve

He named the defendants, all from the Los Angeles area, as Audrey Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41.

By Andrew Bernard, JNS

Federal agents arrested five members of an extremist, pro-Palestinian group who were plotting to carry out coordinated bombing attacks in Los Angeles and New Orleans on New Year’s Eve, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.

“They had everything they needed to make an operational bomb,” Bill Essayli, assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said at a press conference on Monday.

“We disrupted this terror plot before buildings were demolished or innocent people were killed.”

Essayli added that the defendants aimed to detonate “complex pipe bombs” at “multiple companies” at the same time.

They also sought to conduct the attacks without leaving a trace, he said.

He named the defendants, all from the Los Angeles area, as Audrey Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41.

All were also part of a group called the Order of the Black Lotus. At the home of one of the defendants was a sign stating “long live Palestine,” Essayli said.

Patel, the FBI director, stated that “the subjects self-identified as members of a radical offshoot of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an extremist group motivated by pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement and anti-government ideology.”

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Some Native Americans and others use “Turtle Island” to refer to the North American continent.

“They were allegedly planning coordinated IED bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve, targeting five separate locations across Los Angeles,” Patel stated.

“In the days since, the FBI in New Orleans arrested an additional fifth individual believed to be linked to this radical Turtle Island Liberation Front subgroup, also allegedly planning a separate violent attack.”

Patel described the New Year’s Eve terrorist threat as “credible” and “imminent.”

The four California-based members of the group were arrested in Lucerne Valley, Calif., over the weekend, Fox News reported.

Each has reportedly been charged with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device.

The New Orleans-based member of the group was arrested for allegedly plotting a separate attack.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on Monday that the group was plotting a “massive and horrific terror plot” in Orange County and Los Angeles.

“The Turtle Island Liberation Front—a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government and anti-capitalist group—was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve,” Bondi wrote.

“The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles.”

“We will continue to pursue these terror groups and bring them to justice,” she added.