FBI Stops New Years Eve Bomb Plot Targeting Los Angeles Warehouses

Four Arrested Building Explosives in Desert

The FBI caught four people in the California desert on December 12, 2025, just as they started putting together pipe bombs.

The group had plans to blow up five locations across Los Angeles and Orange County at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Agents had been watching them for weeks, and they moved in before a single device was finished.

The suspects called their scheme “Operation Midnight Sun,” and the details they left behind read like a terrorism manual.

Handwritten Plan Detailed Everything

Suspect Audrey Carroll, 30, wrote an eight-page document that described exactly how to build the bombs, where to place them, and how to avoid getting caught.

The plan called for backpacks filled with pipe bombs to be left at five locations and detonated at the same time.

Carroll picked New Year’s Eve because, as the document stated, fireworks would be going off and explosions would be less likely to be noticed.

She even acknowledged in messages that what they were planning would be considered a terrorist act.

Logistics Centers Were the Targets

Prosecutors said the targets were “Amazon-type” logistics centers operated by two U.S. companies in the Los Angeles area.

Officials declined to name the companies but confirmed they handle shipping and distribution.

According to court documents, Carroll told another suspect that no people would be at the locations, and if they saw anyone like a security guard, they would warn them.

The group wanted to cause property damage, not casualties.

Turtle Island Liberation Front Explained

The name comes from an Indigenous term for North America, based on Native American creation stories where the continent formed on the back of a giant turtle.

The group seeks to free “occupied” Turtle Island from what it calls the illegal American empire. Attorney General Pam Bondi described it as a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group.

The group’s Instagram page has fewer than 1,000 followers and features phrases like “Death to America” and “Peaceful Protest Will Never Be Enough.”

Splinter Cell Called Itself Black Lotus

The four suspects formed their own faction within TILF and communicated through an encrypted Signal chat called “Order of the Black Lotus.”

A University of Pittsburgh professor who studies political violence said the individuals appear to be a splinter group that decided to escalate from activism to actual violence.

He noted that other members of the broader Turtle Island Liberation Front likely had nothing to do with the bomb plot.

Carroll and Page Led the Plot

Federal officials said Carroll, 30, created the detailed bombing plan in November and provided it to an FBI source.

She allegedly worked with Zachary Page, 32, to obtain bomb-making materials and recruit participants. The two then brought in Dante Gaffield, 24, and Tina Lai, 41, to help carry out the attack.

All four are from the Los Angeles area, with addresses in South LA, Torrance, and Glendale.

What Agents Found in the Desert

The suspects brought PVC pipes of various sizes. They set up a tent to shield the materials from the sun and began assembling components on a table.

Suspected items included potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder, and fuse materials to a remote campsite near Lucerne Valley.

FBI surveillance planes captured footage of the group unloading supplies from their cars. Agents arrested them before they could finish building a working explosive.

Raids Turned Up More Evidence

Search warrants executed at the suspects’ homes on the day of the arrests uncovered posters calling for “Death to America” and “Death to ICE.”

Investigators also found a copy of Operation Midnight Sun, more PVC pipes, cutting tools, and a Taser device reported stolen from the Federal Protective Service.

Carroll allegedly told an FBI informant she had a notebook with multiple attack plans that never happened, calling it her “terrorist diary.”

Fifth Arrest Made in Louisiana

Micah James Legnon, 29, a former Marine and former New Iberia police officer, was arrested the same day as the California suspects.

The FBI tracked him as he drove toward New Orleans with an assault rifle, body armor, and gas canisters in his vehicle.

He had posted on social media about wanting to “recreate Waco” against Border Patrol agents. Legnon was charged with making threats in interstate commerce and faces up to five years in prison.

ICE Agents Were Future Targets

Court documents show two of the California suspects discussed plans for future attacks targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles with pipe bombs.

Attorney General Bondi specifically noted that the group planned to target ICE agents in addition to the logistics centers.

The timing came during months of anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, where activists from the group had been seen carrying signs calling for “Death to ICE.”

Federal Charges Filed Against All Four

Carroll, Page, Gaffield, and Lai were each charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. If convicted, they face up to five years for conspiracy and up to ten years for the device charge.

All four appeared in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on December 15. Prosecutors said additional charges are expected as investigators continue reviewing evidence.

Plot Stopped Two Weeks Early

The bombs were supposed to go off on December 31. The FBI stopped them on December 12, giving agents nearly three weeks to spare.

“They had everything they needed to make an operational bomb at that location,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell called the arrests a “powerful testament to the strength of our unified response.”

The New Year’s Eve countdown in Southern California will go on without pipe bombs hidden in backpacks.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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