FBI Foils Far-Left Extremist Plot to Bomb LA Businesses on New Year's Eve

Extremist Group's Plot Uncovered

• FBI arrested five members of an anti-capitalist, anti-government extremist group for allegedly plotting coordinated bombings in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.
• The group, an offshoot of the left-wing Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), aimed to bomb multiple businesses as part of a movement to "Fight back against capitalism."

Ideology and Goals

• TILF is described as a little-known, pro-Palestine, anti-law enforcement, and anti-government extremist group focused on revolutionary change.
• Members believe the working class should rise up against capitalism and advocate for "direct action" over peaceful protest.
• The name "Turtle Island" is an indigenous term for North America, appropriated by the group to align with their goal of eliminating America, which they deem illegitimate.

"Order of the Black Lotus" and Bomb Plot

• A splinter group from TILF, calling themselves the Order of the Black Lotus, took drastic steps to spread their beliefs.
• They assembled complex pipe bombs with homemade gunpowder in the desert, intending to plant them in five separate locations, concealed in backpacks, to detonate at midnight on New Year's Eve.
• An eight-page document titled "Operation Midnight Sun" detailed the bombing plot, handed to a confidential FBI source.

Arrests and Future Attacks

• Four individuals—Audrey Eileene Carol, Zachary Aaron Paige, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lie—were charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
• A fifth suspect was arrested in New Orleans while planning a separate attack.
• Two members, Carol and Paige, also discussed follow-up attacks targeting ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in January or February 2026.