Four people were arrested last week, after the FBI infiltrated the clique, on suspicion of plotting to bomb two businesses in Orange and Los Angeles counties on New Year’s Eve, authorities said on Monday, Dec. 15.
The defendants, alleged members of an activist group, were arrested in Lucerne Valley, in the Mojave Desert and east of Victorville, where they are accused of meeting to build pipe bombs to use in the attacks, officials said.
The two men and the two women have been charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to a criminal complaint.
“We intend to file additional charges in the coming weeks as we finish reviewing the evidence,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a morning press conference at the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. It was also possible that additional members could face charges, he said.
The four were described by authorities as members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group. What specific businesses were targeted was not disclosed by authorities, with Essayli on Monday only characterizing them as “logistics centers,” such as Amazon might have.
They were described as a far-left extremist group by the acting U.S. attorney, and as an anti-government organization by a high-ranking FBI official.
The defendants, Americans who live in the Los Angeles area, are:
— Audrey Carroll, 30
— Zachary Aaron Page, 32
— Dante Anthony-Gaffield, 24
— Tina Chen-Ting Lai, 41
The arraignments for Carroll, Page and Anthony-Gaffield are scheduled for Jan. 5 in federal court. Lai’s is scheduled for Jan. 2.
Anthony-Gaffield was ordered released on bond, though prosecutors are expected to appeal that ruling, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The defendant will stay in custody through the appeals process.
Carroll had allegedly come up with the plan in November, contained in an eight-page document, and handed it to the other co-conspirators, the complaint says: The plan included instructions on how to build a pipe bomb as well as measures to avoid being identified by law enforcement — going as far as to include putting a pebble in a shoe in order to change the way they walk.
It also urged the group to only make purchases in cash, use burner phones and then destroy SIM cards and put the devices in bricks to throw into the ocean, and to wear clothing and gloves in order to mask their identity and not leave DNA, the complaint says.
The bombs would be placed in backpacks and planted at multiple locations in Southern California, “targeting U.S. companies,” said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. The bombs would all be detonated at midnight and the sound would be masked by fireworks, the defendants allegedly said, according to the complaint.
Carroll and Page are accused by federal authorities of recruiting others to join in on the plan, Essayli said.
The defendants would communicate and coordinate through Signal on a chat titled, “Order of the Black Lotus,” the complaint says. Carroll also met up with the other defendants on multiple occasions this month leading up to Friday, Dec. 12, when the group was to meet at a campsite in Lucerne Valley to test the improvised explosive devices.
They also discussed future plans for after the new year targeting U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles, the complaint says. Carroll allegedly mentioned at one point that the plan was to “take some of them out and scare the rest,” Essayli said.
Unbeknownst to Carroll, officials said, one with the group was a confidential source for federal authorities and another is an FBI agent. The confidential source traveled with two of the defendants in one vehicle to the desert, while the FBI agent traveled in the other.
“What we’re doing will be considered a terrorist act,” Carroll allegedly said while describing the plans in detail on the way to Lucerne Valley.
The suspects “all brought bomb-making components to the campsite,” the complaint says, including PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulfur powder and “material to be used as fuses.”
After setting up all the materials on tables and preparing to grind one of the precursor powders used to create an explosive black powder, they were arrested at the site, authorities said.
Davis, the assistant director in charge, called the arrests “a major victory in our collective efforts to protect the American people.”
While discussing the arrests at the press conference, federal authorities showed a video: It appeared to have been shot from a drone, with suspects moving items around the campsite.
The Rose Parade was not believed to be a target in the attack, said Laura Eimiller, a FBI spokeswoman.
SCNG staff writer Ryanne Mena contibuted to this story.
