FBI Arrests Pro-Palestinian Extremists in New Year's Eve Bomb Plot
Four members of the anti-government and pro-Palestinian Turtle Island Liberation Front were arrested in the Mojave Desert while testing explosives for a coordinated New Year's Eve attack in LA
Federal authorities arrested four alleged members of the anti-government and pro-Palestinian Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) who were planning coordinated bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve 2025 in Los Angeles.
Four individuals were arrested in the Mojave Desert on December 12, while allegedly preparing to test improvised explosive devices (IEDs). A fifth individual connected to the group was arrested in New Iberia, Louisiana. The plot, code-named “Operation Midnight Sun,” targeted multiple U.S. companies and included future plans to attack ICE agents and vehicles.
The Suspects and Their Plan
Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30, of South Los Angeles; Zachary Aaron Page, 32, of Torrance; Dante Gaffield, 24, of South Los Angeles; and Tina Lai, 41, of Glendale, are charged with conspiracy and possession of unregistered destructive devices. They face up to 15 years in federal prison if convicted.
According to a detailed FBI affidavit, Carroll authored an eight-page handwritten document titled “Operation Midnight Sun” that outlined plans to simultaneously detonate complex pipe bombs hidden in backpacks at five locations targeting two U.S. companies in the Central District of California. The plan specified midnight on New Year’s Eve, reasoning that fireworks will be going off at this time so explosions will be less likely to be noticed.
The conspirators allegedly operated within a secret cell called the “Order of the Black Lotus,” which Carroll described as a “radical” faction of TILF.
Public Calls for Violence
Carroll allegedly operated the group’s Instagram account, which openly advocated violence. A November 28 post read: “Revolution is the only way. Stop ‘peaceful protesting. Rise up, fight back. We are not outnumbered, they are. Organize and be ready.”
The account’s profile on X shows the account as originating from Canada and described the operator as a Maoist Fanonist who identified as TILF and stated “yes, I am a settler,” while promoting Anti-Colonialism Action Anti-Imperialism Action and describing themselves as a “Pamphlet maker.”
TILF’s Alliance with Violent Extremist Groups
The Turtle Island Liberation Front has cultivated dangerous alliances with other extremist organizations that advocate and engage in violent direct action. In a November 2025 Instagram post, TILF declared: “We embrace the return of our comrades at DAMPL. Free Palestine or scorch the earth.”
DAMPL (Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation) is a radical, far-left, anti-Zionist extremist group that emerged in spring 2025. The organization promotes violent “direct action by every and any means necessary“ while glorifying Hamas and other U.S.-designated terror organizations.
In July 2025, DAMPL claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Massachusetts State House with paint mixed with feces and homemade thermites. The group has threatened AIPAC headquarters in Washington, D.C., warning: “The next time we paint AIPAC walls in DC, it won’t be paint they’ll be cleaning up…” followed by a blood drop emoji. DAMPL also publicly praised the May 2025 Capital Jewish Museum shooting that killed two Israeli Embassy staffers.
The George Washington University Program on Extremism issued a report warning of DAMPL’s dangerous escalation from online mobilization to acts of vandalism, intimidation, and attempted incendiary attacks.
TILF’s Participation in Anti-ICE Protests
TILF members have participated in anti-ICE demonstrations, carrying signs reading “Death to ICE” while wearing keffiyehs as symbols of Palestinian solidarity. The group invoked the Hamas inverted triangle symbol when calling for violence against ICE, directly adopting the iconography used by the U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
Recruitment Following “No Kings” Protests
Following the nationwide “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration in June and October 2025, TILF actively campaigned to recruit activists who were disillusioned with traditional protest movements. The group specifically targeted individuals “open to violent options,” positioning itself as an alternative for those who believed peaceful demonstration was ineffective
The Arrests
FBI agents, aided by a confidential informant and an undercover employee, observed the suspects as they transported materials to a remote desert campsite. Agents seized approximately 20 PVC pipes, two containers of potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulfur powder, six boxes of primers, gasoline, and five glass bottles, components FBI bomb technicians confirmed were “readily assemblable” into functional explosives and Molotov cocktails.
Federal agents intervened just as the group began assembling devices under a tent, arresting them before any functional bombs were completed.