Los Angeles New Year’s Eve attack plot foiled: FBI flags ‘far-left pro-Palestinian’ group; five arrested

US federal authorities have arrested five people accused of plotting coordinated bomb attacks across Southern California on New Year’s Eve, disrupting what officials described as a major terror plot, according to the FBI and the Department of Justice.

The suspects are alleged members of a “radical offshoot” of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), an extremist group described by FBI Director Kash Patel as being driven by “pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement, and anti-government ideology.” In a post on X, Patel said the group was “allegedly planning coordinated IED bombing attacks on New Year’s Eve, targeting five separate locations across Los Angeles.”


"Over the weekend, the FBI disrupted a credible, imminent terrorist threat and arrested FOUR individuals connected to the Los Angeles area. The subjects self-identified as members of a radical offshoot of the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), an extremist group motivated by pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement, and anti-government ideology. They were allegedly planning coordinated IED bombing attacks on New Year's Eve, targeting five separate locations across Los Angeles. In the days since, FBI New Orleans arrested an additional FIFTH individual believed to be linked to this radical TILF subgroup - also allegedly planning a separate violent attack."



Attorney General Pam Bondi said the arrests “prevented what would have been a massive and horrific terror plot” in Orange County and Los Angeles. She described TILF as a “far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group,” and said the suspects had also planned to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles involved in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

According to federal prosecutors, the four suspects were arrested last week near the desert city of Twentynine Palms, east of Los Angeles, where investigators believe they were preparing to test improvised explosive devices ahead of the planned attacks. Court documents say the suspects brought bomb-making materials to a desert campsite, including PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, sulfur powder and fuse materials.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said one of the suspects had created a detailed plan to bomb multiple locations across Southern California. “It included step-by-step instructions to build IEDs...and listed multiple targets across Orange County and Los Angeles,” Essayli said during a news conference.

The four suspects, all from the Los Angeles area, face charges including conspiracy and possession of a destructive device, according to court records.

Separately, Patel said FBI agents in New Orleans arrested a fifth person linked to the TILF who was allegedly planning a “separate violent attack.”

Federal authorities said the investigation is ongoing.