LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Four people have been arrested in connection with an alleged terrorism plot to bomb five targets in Los Angeles and Orange counties on New Year’s Eve, federal authorities announced Monday.
The four defendants were arrested in Lucerne Valley in San Bernardino County and were allegedly part of an offshoot of a Pro-Palestinian group called Turtle Island Liberation Front, officials said.
Those arrested in Southern California are:
— Audrey Carroll, 30;
— Zachary Aaron Page, 32;
— Dante Gaffield, 24; and
— Tina Ley, 41.
The four are charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, prosecutors said.
The FBI said Monday that a fifth individual believed to be connected to the same extremist group was arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate attack.
The suspects were allegedly about to test explosives that were to be used in coordinated attacks on targets throughout the region, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
The group also allegedly planned to target federal immigration agents and vehicles with pipe bombs, Essayli said during an FBI press conference.
Essayli said the group obtained bomb-making materials but were arrested before they were able to finish building an actual destructive device.
The defendants are expected to appear before a magistrate judge Monday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles.
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