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Grand Jury Indicts Four in Foiled Southern California New Year’s Eve Bomb Plot

Two defendants face a potential life sentence on a weapon-of-mass-destruction conspiracy charge.

Overview

  • All four are charged with providing material support to terrorists and possessing unregistered firearms, with Audrey Carroll and Zachary Page additionally charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
  • Prosecutors say the group tied to the Turtle Island Liberation Front drafted a handwritten plan called “Operation Midnight Sun” to bomb technology and logistics facilities on Dec. 31.
  • The FBI, tipped by a confidential source and aided by an undercover operative, arrested the suspects on Dec. 12 at a Mojave Desert explosives test site before any functional devices were completed.
  • Court filings cite extremist encrypted messages and an eight-page manifesto, and allege procurement of potassium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal and pipes for improvised explosives.
  • The defendants remain held without bond with January arraignments scheduled in Los Angeles, and a fifth related arrest was made in Louisiana as investigators continue to review evidence.