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The Department of Justice has announced charges against four alleged members of an extremist anti-government group accused of plotting coordinated bomb attacks across Southern California on New Year’s Eve.

Getting into it: According to the DOJ, members of the “Turtle Island Liberation Front” (TILF), a far-left, anti-capitalist, and pro-Palestinian group, were allegedly in the final stages of preparing a terror plot that involved detonating multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at logistics centers across the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. The group allegedly intended to use the cover of New Year’s Eve fireworks to mask the sound of the coordinated blasts, which were timed to go off at midnight. The targets were described as Amazon-style distribution centers and other key commercial sites involved in interstate commerce.

The plot, named “OPERATION MIDNIGHT SUN,” was outlined in an eight-page handwritten document authored by Audrey Carroll, one of the accused. The document included step-by-step instructions for building complex pipe bombs, tactics for evading detection, and a list of proposed targets. FBI surveillance caught the four suspects, Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai, transporting and assembling bomb-making components in California’s Mojave Desert, where investigators say they were rehearsing for the attack. Among the items recovered at their campsite were PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, sulfur powder, charcoal, fuses, and various other explosive precursors.

Investigators say the group’s ideology is rooted in anti-government and anti-capitalist beliefs, with a particular focus on violent resistance. The Turtle Island Liberation Front has publicly called for the “liberation of colonized people” and for dismantling capitalist structures. According to court documents, Carroll and Page also discussed follow-up attacks aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and vehicles, which were allegedly planned for 2026. The FBI described the plot as “organized, sophisticated, and extremely violent,” noting that if executed, it could have caused significant casualties and infrastructure damage.

A fifth suspect, Micah James Legnon, was arrested in Louisiana in connection with the plot. Authorities say Legnon, a former Marine, was armed and traveling at the time of his arrest to allegedly carry out a separate attack. He was found with firearms, tactical gear, and incendiary materials in his vehicle and now faces federal charges related to making interstate threats.

As of now, lawyers for the five suspects have not made any comment.