Terrorism Charges Lodged Against Accused Bombers Who Plotted In IE Desert: DOJ

A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a six-count indictment against four members of an alleged anti-government group who were arrested in the Inland Empire this month and are accused of plotting to set off bombs on New Year’s Eve at companies in Southern California.

Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30, of South Los Angeles, Zachary Aaron Page, 32, of Torrance, Dante James Anthony Gaffield, 24, of South Los Angeles, and Tina Lai, 41, of Glendale are each charged with one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and one count of possession of unregistered firearms. Carroll and Page are also charged with one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

All four defendants are in federal custody without bond. Lai’s arraignment is scheduled for January 2, Carroll and Page on January 5, and Gaffield on January 20. The arraignments will take place in the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

“The charges a federal grand jury returned today reflect the seriousness of the conduct: a planned terrorist attack on American soil on New Year’s Eve,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “If convicted, this group of self-professed left-wing radicals will face decades in federal prison. We will continue to investigate and prosecute any and all terror groups and bring them to justice.”

FBI agents arrested the four defendants on December 12 in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County. The defendants were allegedly building and testing explosives as part of the New Year’s Eve plot.

The defendants are all members of the “radical, anti-government Turtle Island Liberation Front,” Essayli said.

Authorities claim the group is a “far-left pro-Palestinian, anti-government, and anti-capitalist organization” that also allegedly advocates for attacks targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles.

The New Year’s Eve bombing plot was designed to “completely pulverize” the targets, which included technology and logistics companies with offices across Southern California. After drafting the bombing plot, Carroll recruited others — including Page, Gaffield, and Lai — to join the attack plan, according to prosecutors.

The defendants allegedly had a handwritten plan that laid out how complex pipe bombs were to be used in the New Year’s Eve scheme, including instructions on how to manufacture the explosive devices, and guidance to avoid leaving evidence behind that could be traced back to the group, according to the criminal complaint.

Carroll and Page led the bomb-building efforts and recruited others to join their scheme, Essayli said. Many of the components needed for the explosive devices were purchased by Carroll on Amazon, according to the complaint.

Prior to the desert meetup, the defendants allegedly used a Signal messaging group called the “Order of the Black Lotus” to discuss the bombing plot, including the plan to test explosive devices in the Mojave Desert, according to the criminal complaint.

The Order of the Black Lotus is a faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front that Essayli described as “even more radical.”

Carroll also allegedly operated an Instagram account, @turtleislandliberationfrontla, which includes the tagline “Liberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty.”