The case centers on an alleged plan to bomb five or more sites described as “Amazon-type” logistical centers, hatched by members of a radical anti-capitalist group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front. All four suspects were arrested in the Mojave Desert on Dec. 12 while rehearsing the alleged plot, before they had assembled a functional explosive device, officials said.
Three of four people accused of plotting to bomb multiple Southern California business locations on New Year’s Eve entered not-guilty pleas in federal court this week, with a fourth defendant’s arraignment set for later this month.
Audrey Carroll, 30, and Zachary Page, 32, appeared in federal court Monday and entered their pleas. Tina Lai, 41, had entered her not-guilty plea in court several days earlier. The fourth defendant, Dante Anthony-Gaffield, 24, will enter his plea Jan. 20. Attorneys for Carroll and Page did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The alleged plot
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Carroll created a detailed plan to bomb five or more business locations owned by two companies across Southern California on New Year’s Eve — facilities he described as “Amazon-type” logistical centers. Essayli did not publicly identify the alleged targets.
All four defendants, all from the Los Angeles area, were arrested Dec. 12 in the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles as they were rehearsing the alleged plot, Essayli said. Officials said the arrests were made before the suspects had assembled a functional explosive device.
Photographs included in court documents show the desert campsite where the arrests took place, with what investigators described as bomb-making materials spread across plastic folding tables.
Charges
A federal grand jury indicted all four defendants on multiple counts of providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and possession of unregistered firearms. Carroll and Page also face one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
If convicted on the most serious charges, Carroll and Page could face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Anthony-Gaffield and Lai could face a maximum of 25 years.
The group
Officials said the defendants are members of an offshoot of an anti-capitalist and anti-government group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front. According to the criminal complaint, the group advocates for decolonization, tribal sovereignty, and “the working class to rise up and fight back against capitalism.”
“Turtle Island” is a term used by some Indigenous peoples to describe North America, drawn from creation stories in which the continent was formed on the back of a giant turtle.
The defendants belonged to a faction that communicated through a chat called “Order of the Black Lotus,” which one defendant characterized as a “radical” wing of the group, according to the indictment. Two group members had also discussed plans for future attacks targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles with pipe bombs, the criminal complaint states.
Trial schedule
Trial for Carroll, Page, and Lai is scheduled to begin Feb. 17. Anthony-Gaffield’s trial date will be set once he enters his plea later this month.