Federal authorities said Monday they disrupted a planned New Year’s Eve attack targeting U.S. companies around the Los Angeles area and arrested four suspects who allegedly were practicing how to build explosive devices.
Officials said the suspects were members of a far-left anti-government group known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front. The suspects, who were arrested Friday, were charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device and may face additional charges, officials said.
First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli — who is running the federal prosecutor’s office in Los Angeles — said the FBI arrested the suspects in a remote area as they were practicing how to make bombs. He said he does not believe that others were involved in the plot.
The criminal complaint charging the two men and two women said that they were eyeing two companies at five different locations and described the companies as “engaged in activities affecting interstate and foreign commerce.”
“Thankfully, that plot has been foiled,” Essayli said.
Essayli said the suspects were expected to make their first court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday.
Authorities said they executed what they described as “complex and coordinated search warrants” across the country during the weekend. In late November, one of the suspects, Audrey Carroll, allegedly handed an eight-page, handwritten note describing the plot to someone who turned out to be a government informant. Carroll noted in that summary that they would target more locations if they could recruit enough co-conspirators, officials said.
Akil Davis, who runs the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said authorities learned that the suspects had recently purchased chemicals and other materials to build complicated pipe bombs.
Two of the suspects, Carroll and Zachary Page, discussed plans for attacks after New Year’s Eve, including targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles with pipe bombs, according to the criminal complaint.
Federal authorities said they worked closely with local law enforcement to disrupt the plot.
“I want to reiterate that there are some disagreements amongst our agencies over things like immigration enforcement,” Essayli said. “But when it comes to other areas of law enforcement where it matters to keep the public safe … there is no gap in the cooperation between the federal government and local government.”
Essayli, in part, credited the Trump administration’s call on law enforcement to more aggressively probe potential left-wing violence for helping to spur the investigation.
Officials said the suspects belonged to an arm of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, which officials described as anti-capitalist and anti-government. The complaint alleges that Carroll operated an Instagram account affiliated with the group, using her platform to publicly advocate for violence against public officials.
According to the complaint, the Turtle Island Liberation Front calls for the working class to rise up and fight against capitalism, advocating that peaceful protest is inadequate and that “direct action is the only way.”
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