Federal authorities on Monday announced the arrests of four alleged members of an extremist group who are suspected of planning coordinated bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve across Southern California.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the FBI has foiled a bomb plot targeting multiple targets, including immigration agents and vehicles, in Los Angeles and Orange County.
“The Turtle Island Liberation Front – a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government and anti-capitalist group – was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” Bondi said in a statement.
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The suspects were arrested last week in Lucerne Valley, a desert city east of Los Angeles, where they were suspected of preparing to test improvised explosive devices ahead of the planned bombings, according to the federal criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California.
They are members of an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group dubbed the Turtle Island Liberation Front, the complaint said.
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They each face charges including conspiracy and possession of a destructive device, court documents show.
Evidence photos included in the court documents show a desert campsite with what investigators said were bomb-making materials strewn across plastic folding tables.