By Gao Yun
On Monday, Dec. 15, U.S. federal authorities announced that four individuals suspected of belonging to an extremist organization have been arrested. Prosecutors allege the four were plotting to carry out bombing attacks at multiple locations in Southern California on New Year’s Eve.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed on Saturday, the suspects were arrested last week in Lucerne Valley, a desert town east of Los Angeles. Federal law enforcement officials believe the suspects were preparing for the planned bombings there and intended to test improvised explosive devices before carrying out the attacks.
Officials also said the four suspects were arrested near the desert city of Twentynine Palms, which is home to a U.S. Marine Corps base.
The complaint states that the four suspects belong to a faction of a pro-Palestinian group known as the “Turtle Island Liberation Front.”
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The FBI said the group is an extremist organization motivated by pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement, and anti-government ideologies.
An Instagram account associated with the Turtle Island Liberation Front claims the group’s founding branch is based in Los Angeles and that its goal is to liberate “Turtle Island” from the “illegal American empire.” “Turtle Island” is a term used by Indigenous peoples to refer to the North American continent.
FBI: Suspects Planned Multi-Target New Year’s Eve Bombings
Posts from the account state: “Free Palestine. Free Hawaii. Free Puerto Rico.”
Court documents show that all four suspects face charges including conspiracy and possession of destructive devices.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that law enforcement alleges the group had been planning, beginning on New Year’s Eve, to detonate a series of bombs at multiple targets across California. The group also allegedly planned to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and their vehicles.
At a Monday press conference, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said all four suspects are from the Los Angeles area, and that one of them had drafted a detailed plan to carry out bombings at five or more locations in Southern California on New Year’s Eve.
Essayli said the plan “included step-by-step instructions for making improvised explosive devices and listed multiple target locations in Orange County and Los Angeles.”
Evidence photos attached to court filings show items investigators identified as bomb-making materials scattered on plastic folding tables at a desert campsite. The complaint states that the suspects “each brought bomb-making components to the campsite, including PVC pipes of various sizes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder, and materials that could be used as fuses.”
