Law enforcement officials stated on Monday that they had effectively disrupted a comprehensive plan to explode IEDs at several locations belonging to two corporate businesses on New Year's Eve in Southern California. The operation resulted from the arrest of suspects part of an militant faction promoting anti-system and anti-authority ideologies.
Suspects Detained During Remote Practice
Four individuals were taken into custody last Friday in the desert region located east of Los Angeles at the time they were according to officials practicing their proposed attack. Federal attorneys displayed aerial monitoring footage to the media, that captured the suspects carrying a big black device to a surface. Law enforcement stressed that the apprehensions took place before the individuals could construct a operational explosive device.
Identities of the Suspects Made Public
According to the filed criminal complaint, the four individuals named are Carroll, aged 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, who is 41. The group are reportedly from the Los Angeles vicinity.
Alleged Motivation and Group Affiliations
While authorities did not directly outline a reason, they indicated the individuals are members of a faction known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front. This organization allegedly urges "workers to rise up and resist against the capitalist system," as per the legal filing.
Each suspect is charged with include plotting and possession of a destructive device. The government noted that further charges are likely in the coming weeks.
Elements of the Supposed "Operation Midnight Sun"
Officials stated that one of the suspects had created a detailed scheme last month to bomb five or more commercial sites across Southern California on New Year's Eve. The targets were characterized as "like Amazon" fulfillment warehouses.
"The plan was detailed," a prosecutor stated. "It contained detailed directions to build IEDs … and listed several objectives across Orange county and Los Angeles."
According to the probe and the complaint, the plot called for planting bags containing complex IEDs that were planned to be detonated simultaneously at midnight on New Year's Eve at 5 locations. New Year's Eve was seen as an perfect time as the document indicated "celebratory explosions will be going off at this time so explosions will be less likely to be heard."
An eight-page handwritten document, titled "OPERATION MIDNIGHT SUN," suggested that further locations could be incorporated. The locations were categorized as property and buildings owned by two distinct companies tied to activities involving national and international trade.
Long-term Schemes and Materials Uncovered
The investigation also indicated that two people in the group had discussed subsequent strikes aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and vehicles with explosives in 2026. One suspect reportedly commented that such actions "would eliminate some and scare the rest of them."
Such discussions were allegedly talked over both at an face-to-face gathering in Los Angeles and through an encrypted digital platform.
Images included in the court documents depict a desert campsite with what authorities said were explosives-manufacturing items strewn across portable tables.
The complaint details that the group "each brought bomb-making components to the site, among them different sizes of plastic pipes, believed to be potassium nitrate, charcoal, powdered charcoal, powdered sulfur, and material to be used as detonators, and more."
The plan also contained steps on how to build the explosives and how to prevent leaving evidence that could be traced back to the individuals. The individuals had in the recent past purchased components and other materials, with acquisitions from online retailers.
Arrest and Follow-up
Authorities moved in last week while the individuals were running through the operation in the isolated region near Twentynine Palms. "They owned all the components they needed to make an functional explosive device at that location," an official commented.
During executed searches, investigators allegedly discovered signs for the Turtle Island Liberation Front at one suspect's dwelling that advocated "Down with America", and "ICE Must Go". At another suspect's residence, police found a version of the elaborate explosives scheme.
The individuals were taken into custody peacefully. They were due to make a court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.
