Feds say they foiled New Year’s Eve terror plot in Southern California
The plan to attack several Los Angeles-area businesses on New Year’s Eve was elaborate, dangerous and already in motion, authorities said.
But when four men allegedly affiliated with an anti-government group met to make and test several test bombs in the Mojave Desert last week, FBI officials thwarted the terror plot.
““We foiled this terrorist plot before buildings were destroyed or innocent people were killed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference Monday morning.
Four people were arrested on suspicion of planning an attack that Essayli described as “organised, sophisticated and extremely violent”. They were all affiliated with a radical faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front called the Order of the Black Lotus; FBI Deputy Director in Charge Akil Davis described it as “a violent, anti-government group in the country.”
Authorities did not say which buildings or businesses were planned to be targeted, but Essayli said they were different “logistics centers” similar to what Amazon might have.
Authorities said they believe everyone involved in the planned attack has been arrested, but the investigation into the plan is ongoing.
The four alleged conspirators, Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield and Tina Lai, were charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, Essayli said.
Davis said, “The arrested people were planning to target US companies by detonating backpacks containing improvised explosives in various parts of Southern California.”
Essayli said the plans the FBI uncovered included follow-up attacks after the bombings, including plans to target ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs.
