Washington — Federal law enforcement officials said Monday that the Justice Department and FBI had foiled a plan by members of a “far-left” group to conduct a series of attacks on New Year’s Eve across Southern California and arrested four people who were allegedly involved.
Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X that the Justice Department and FBI “prevented what would have been a massive and horrific terror plot in the Central District of California,” which encompasses Los Angeles and Orange County. FBI Director Kash Patel wrote that four people had been arrested in connection to the alleged plot in California.
The FBI is set to share more details at a press conference in Los Angeles.
Patel said that the suspects were allegedly planning “coordinated IED bombing attacks” targeting five locations across Los Angeles on Dec. 31. A fifth person arrested by the FBI in New Orleans was allegedly planning a separate attack, according to the FBI chief.
He said the bureau disrupted a “credible, imminent terrorist threat” over the weekend.
The attorney general said a group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front was behind the plot and was “preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California” starting on New Year’s Eve. Bondi described the Turtle Island Liberation Front as a “far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group.”
Bondi said the group was also planning to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles.
“This was an incredible effort by our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI to ensure Americans can live in peace. We will continue to pursue these terror groups and bring them to justice,” Bondi wrote.
The Turtle Island Liberation Front describes itself on Facebook as a political organization that seeks “liberation of occupied Turtle Island and liberation of all colonized people across the world.” The group has expressed pro-Palestinian messages on social media and has said it is fighting against “fascist colonizers.” It has urged followers to bring Palestinian flags to protests.
An Instagram account for the group’s Los Angeles chapter says it advocates for “liberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty.” The group does not appear to be particularly well-known: its Instagram account has fewer than 900 followers, and its Facebook page is followed by just 32 users.
Turtle Island is the name used by some indigenous peoples for North America.
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