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Two Suspects Plead Not Guilty in Alleged New Year's Eve Bomb Plot in Southern California

Prosecutors cite a handwritten blueprint alongside desert arrests as they prepare a terrorism case headed toward a Feb. 17 trial.

Overview

  • Audrey Illeene Carroll and Zachary Aaron Page were arraigned in Los Angeles federal court on counts including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, providing material support to terrorists, and possession of unregistered firearms.
  • An indictment links the defendants to a group called the Turtle Island Liberation Front, with prosecutors alleging Carroll authored an eight-page plan titled 'Operation Midnight Sun.'
  • Authorities say the suspects were arrested on Dec. 12 in the Mojave Desert while unloading bomb-making materials to test explosives intended for coordinated attacks.
  • Prosecutors describe intended targets as technology and logistics businesses across Southern California and ICE personnel, based on the seized plan and filings.
  • Tina Lai previously pleaded not guilty, Dante Gaffield is scheduled for a Jan. 20 arraignment, and trials for Carroll, Page, and Lai are tentatively set for Feb. 17, with potential life sentences if convicted as charged.