LOS ANGELES — A federal grand jury has indicted four alleged members of an anti-government, anti-capitalist group on new terrorism-related charges tied to what prosecutors describe as a planned New Year’s Eve bombing plot in Southern California, officials announced Tuesday.
The six-count indictment charges Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30, of South Los Angeles; Zachary Aaron Page, 32, of Torrance; Dante James Anthony-Gaffield, 24, of South Los Angeles; and Tina Lai, 41, of Glendale with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and possessing unregistered firearms, according to the indictment.
Carroll and Page are also charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
All four defendants are in federal custody without bond. Lai is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 2, 2026; Carroll and Page on Jan. 5, 2026; and Anthony-Gaffield on Jan. 20, 2026, in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“The charges a federal grand jury returned today reflect the seriousness of the conduct: a planned terrorist attack on American soil on New Year’s Eve,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.
According to the indictment, the defendants were part of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, described as an anti-capitalist and anti-government group, and a faction that used an encrypted messaging group called “Order of the Black Lotus.”
Prosecutors allege Carroll drafted an eight-page handwritten plan in November 2025 titled “Operation Midnight Sun” outlining bombings targeting U.S. businesses across Southern California. The document allegedly listed intended targets, described how to make explosive devices and obtain materials, and included guidance on avoiding evidence.
Authorities allege the defendants obtained bomb-making materials in early December 2025 and traveled to the Mojave Desert on Dec. 12, 2025, to build and test explosives. The FBI arrested them at the scene, prosecutors said.
An indictment contains allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. If convicted, Carroll and Page face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison; Anthony-Gaffield and Lai face a statutory maximum of 25 years, prosecutors said.