Overview
- Federal authorities say four suspects — Audrey Illeene Carroll, Zachary Aaron Page, Dante Gaffield and Tina Lai — were arrested in the Mojave Desert while rehearsing a New Year’s Eve bombing plan and were detained before assembling a functional device, with surveillance footage shown to reporters.
- Joint state, federal and local assessments warn that large celebrations such as Chicago’s Navy Pier and New York’s Times Square are attractive targets, highlighting risks from vehicle-ramming, illicit drones and lone offenders inspired by ISIS or al-Qa’ida.
- Chicago plans to proceed with its fireworks while increasing security and monitoring, and New York is preparing extensive policing for the Times Square ball drop.
- New Orleans officials requested heightened security for New Year’s events after the arrest of Micah James Legnon on threat charges, with authorities alleging ties to the Turtle Island Liberation Front linked to the LA plot.
- Several international cities scaled back or canceled festivities, including Paris dropping its Champs-Élysées concert, Tokyo canceling the Shibuya countdown and Sydney canceling Bondi Beach events.