Overview
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Carole Whitehurst ordered Micah James Legnon held without bond after finding no release conditions could ensure community safety.
- Legnon, 28, was charged with making threats in interstate commerce and, per a DOJ release, is associated with the Turtle Island Liberation Front under the aliases Dark Witch and Kateri the Witch.
- FBI surveillance documented Legnon loading an assault rifle and body armor before posting he was en route to New Orleans, with agents later recovering firearms, a gas canister and tactical gear from his vehicle.
- Four alleged TILF members in Southern California face conspiracy and destructive-device charges tied to a handwritten plan dubbed Operation Midnight Sun that described placing backpack pipe bombs for New Year’s Eve.
- Charging documents cite Signal chats labeled Order of the Black Lotus, desert testing of explosive components, and searches that recovered bomb-making materials, with prosecutors indicating additional charges may follow.