{"id":468754,"date":"2025-12-24T11:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/468754\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T11:15:15","slug":"l-a-terror-plot-alleged-what-is-the-turtle-island-liberation-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/468754\/","title":{"rendered":"L.A. terror plot alleged: What is the Turtle Island Liberation Front?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Federal officials announced Tuesday that additional terrorism charges<\/a> were brought against a far-left group accused of planning a terror plot<\/a> to bomb Southern California locations on New Year\u2019s Eve, a plan officials said was devised by a radical faction of the relatively unknown Turtle Island Liberation Front.<\/p>\n

The alleged bombing scheme immediately grabbed national headlines due to the charges of politically motivated violence. The \u201cviolent, homegrown, antigovernment group,\u201d according to the FBI, planned to bomb several Southern California businesses. If true, and successful, the plan could have been deadly and undoubtedly would have left residents and the region stunned on the cusp of a new year. <\/p>\n

But an FBI sting foiled the plot \u2014 four people with ties to the Turtle Island group were arrested as they were starting to construct improvised explosive devices in the Mojave Desert earlier this month, according to officials. <\/p>\n

What exactly is the Turtle Island Liberation Front, or TILF? What are its politics? And who are the suspects in this case? <\/p>\n

The Times reviewed court documents, social media and public records to glean more information about the group and found that its reach is expanding across the nation \u2014 and it has links to prior instances of violence. <\/p>\n

The review confirmed that one of the alleged conspirators of the New Year\u2019s bomb plot lost his home in the Eaton fire and had been accused in the past of assault. The group also helped promote a protest against an Israeli defense company earlier this month that ended in at least two arrests outside a Koreatown temple. And there is at least one alleged \u201ccomrade\u201d of the foursome, according to court documents, who appears to have been working with the group from well outside Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf convicted, this group of self-professed left-wing radicals will face decades in federal prison,\u201d First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cWe will continue to investigate and prosecute any and all terror groups and bring them to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

What we know about TILF<\/p>\n

A social media page<\/a> for the Turtle Island Liberation Front describes the group as advocating for \u201cliberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty,\u201d sharing posts that call for a free Palestine as well as decrying the recent surge of immigration raids. The group\u2019s name is derived from an Indigenous term for North America.<\/a> <\/p>\n

But the group appeared to have a relatively small following and limited online presence. <\/p>\n

The Instagram page for the L.A. chapter, which appears to be the founding chapter, has posts dating back only to July and about 900 followers.<\/p>\n

But small fringe groups in the U.S. like TILF are increasingly subscribing to violence as an appropriate form of political dispute after becoming inspired by an array of global events, such as the years-long Israeli military assault on Gaza, according to Brian Levin, an expert on extremism who founded the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.<\/p>\n

\u201cGroups like … TILF specifically reject peaceful means and embrace revolutionary-inspired liberation violence,\u201d Levin said. <\/p>\n

Levin said TILF\u2019s ideology, size and operation reminded him of 1970s fringe groups such as the Weather Underground<\/a>, which carried out politically motivated violence.<\/p>\n

The four L.A. County residents arrested this month in the alleged bomb plot had been tracked for weeks by both a federal undercover agent and a confidential informant who infiltrated the group, according to federal court filings. <\/p>\n

The alleged plot also included potential plans to target federal immigration agents and vehicles with pipe bombs, records show. <\/p>\n

Federal officials said all four of the alleged co-conspirators were part of a radical offshoot Signal messaging group called the Order of the Black Lotus that was used to plan the terror plot. <\/p>\n

In a recent post, TILF promoted a December protest at a Koreatown temple<\/a> where organizers were expecting speakers from the Israeli defense industry. The Turtle Island post about the protest called the speakers \u201cbloody war criminals,\u201d but it doesn\u2019t appear the TILF group was the main organizer of the protest. <\/p>\n

The protest ended in two arrests after the demonstration escalated. Police said protesters blocked temple employees from leaving. The temple\u2019s rabbi also alleged property damage at the site and said he heard antisemitic slurs. <\/p>\n

Links to Louisiana<\/p>\n

A fifth person was arrested by federal officials in the terror plot investigation \u2014 in Louisiana. <\/p>\n

Although Essayli initially said that the arrest was not directly tied to the alleged plot in L.A., the criminal complaint for Micah Legnon, a former Marine who lives in southwestern Louisiana, detailed a much more intimate tie between him and the four arrested in Southern California. <\/p>\n

According to the document, Legnon was part of the Signal messaging subgroup, the Order of the Black Lotus, in which he used the name \u201cDarkwitch\u201d and the group discussed its plans to make and plant homemade pipe bombs. They also discussed Legnon working with the group on \u201caccuracy and combat shooting,\u201d the complaint said. <\/p>\n

The day of the Mojave Desert arrests, federal agents watched Legnon \u201cload what appeared to be assault rifle and body armor\u201d into his vehicle before leaving his residence in New Iberia, La., the complaint said. He told the group in the Signal chat that he was headed for New Orleans, sharing a video of his weapons with the caption: \u201cjust in case.\u201d <\/p>\n

FBI agents believed Legnon \u201cintended to travel to New Orleans to carry out an attack,\u201d the complaint said. <\/p>\n

FBI agents later searched his home, finding \u201csniper training manuals, SWAT training manuals, assault rifles and multiple rounds of ammunition,\u201d the complaint said. <\/p>\n

Legnon was arrested on suspicion of \u201cthreats to interstate commerce,\u201d a federal charge that includes transmitting across state lines a threat to injure another person or corporation. <\/p>\n

Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles FBI field office, said that \u201cthis investigation crossed the entire country,\u201d noting that the Southern California branch of the investigative agency worked with FBI field offices in Buffalo, N.Y.; Indianapolis; Boston and New Orleans. <\/p>\n

Who are the alleged co-conspirators?<\/p>\n

Along with Legnon, federal officials arrested Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30, of Los Angeles; Zachary Aaron Page, 32, of Torrance; Dante Gaffield, 24, of Los Angeles; and Tina Lai, 41, of Glendale on suspicion of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to court records. They all faced two new charges from a grand jury this week: providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and possession of unregistered firearms. Carroll and Page are also facing charges of one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.<\/p>\n

They are all being held without bond. Three of their four attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

John Neil McNicholas, the attorney for Page, said it was too early in the case for him to provide a detailed comment. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bunch of people in the desert with a bunch of things that are separately nothing but objects with no power whatsoever,\u201d he said about the alleged plot. <\/p>\n

In the Signal messaging app, the defendants all used a slew of nicknames or aliases, prosecutors said. <\/p>\n

Carroll, whom federal officials have described as the leader of the Order of the Black Lotus radical faction and owner of the TILF Instagram page, was known as \u201cAsiginaak\u201d and \u201cblack moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

In court documents, prosecutors shared messages they said Carroll sent to her alleged co-conspirators via the Signal app, including that she was a \u201cHamas fangirl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI identify as a terrorist,\u201d she wrote, according to the documents. <\/p>\n

At one point, Carroll communicated directly with the FBI\u2019s confidential informant, telling them about a notebook where she worked on multiple violent plots, calling it her \u201cterrorist diary,\u201d prosecutors say. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have to get rid of that,\u201d she wrote, according to the documents. <\/p>\n

Gaffield used the aliases \u201cNomad\u201d and \u201cCedar,\u201d authorities said.<\/p>\n

He lost his home in the Eaton fire in January and said on a GoFundMe<\/a> page that his family was left with only ashes. Public records show he lived with his family at a house on East Altadena Drive, and records confirm that the home at that address burned in the blaze. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe home that held generations of memories, laughter, and love is now gone,\u201d Gaffield wrote on GoFundMe. \u201cEverything we worked so hard for \u2014 every photograph, every keepsake, every piece of our lives \u2014 has vanished.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a hearing about his bail, federal prosecutors described him as a threat, requesting no bail after his arrest, which was eventually granted. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors cited a 2020 case in which Gaffield was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with force and obstructing a police officer, according to court records. Prosecutors said that Gaffield assaulted an officer with a chair, but the case was later dismissed, according to a court filing from Gaffield\u2019s attorney. <\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors also said that, after his arrest, agents found a Taser device in his home that law enforcement records indicated was stolen from the U.S. Federal Protective Service. <\/p>\n

Gaffield also had a domestic violence restraining order issued against him in a case with his ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

But in his defense, his attorney argued that Gaffield was \u201cperipheral\u201d to the terror plot case and that his actions were \u201cnon-violent and inchoate,\u201d according to court records.<\/p>\n

Many of Gaffield\u2019s family members showed up to support his request for bond. Gaffield loves helping others, said one family member. He would pass out food on Skid Row or at MacArthur Park, the relative said.<\/p>\n

Page was also known as \u201cAK,\u201d \u201cAsk Kerrigan\u201d or \u201ccthulu\u2019s daughter,\u201d prosecutors said. The defendant is a recently divorced parent who uses the pronouns \u201cshe\u201d and \u201cthey,\u201d Page\u2019s attorney told The Times.<\/p>\n

On Facebook, Page frequently outlined their political views around the time of the 2020 presidential election. They argued against capitalism as a system of economics and argued for a cap on personal wealth to lessen inequality. They also posted, \u201cI stand with Palestine\u201d in 2023. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want everyone alive to have free, clean water, food, healthcare, education, shelter\/housing, and have more time to pursue passions and hobbies. Is that really so radical??\u201d<\/p>\n

Little information could be found online or in court documents about the fourth defendant in the case, Tina Lai. She was also identified by federal officials as Tina Chen-Ting, with an alias of \u201cKickwhere.\u201d A family member declined to comment when reached by The Times.<\/p>\n

At a news conference celebrating the foiled plot, Essayli \u2014 a fervent supporter of President Trump \u2014 emphasized that these kinds of groups had become a growing focus of federal investigators and prosecutors. <\/p>\n

\u201cRecent attacks across the country have highlighted the grave threats posed by these far-left domestic terror groups,\u201d Essayli said. \u201cBoth my office and the FBI have invested substantial resources into investigating and charging these organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has recently promised to step up the prosecution of groups that harbor \u201cextreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity,\u201d among other ideologies cited in a memo sent by Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi<\/a> to federal law enforcement agencies this month. <\/p>\n

Some worry, however, that a one-sided focus is a threat to Americans\u2019 freedom of speech, even if they agree that stepping up enforcement against extremists is important. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrump appears to be labeling ideologies as some kind of domestic terrorism element \u2014 that\u2019s a concern,\u201d Levin said. \u201cThis can represent the kind of justification for a broadly applied attack on dissent and civil liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Levin said the prosecution of the TILF group appeared valid given its violent rhetoric, he said he hoped federal officials would remain judicious. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis group was one that is different from much of the mainstream left positions,\u201d Levin said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to note that.\u201d<\/p>\n