Four Arrested in New Year's Eve Bomb Plot in Southern California

Federal authorities announced on Monday the arrests of four individuals accused of plotting coordinated bombing attacks across Southern California on New Year's Eve. The suspects, members of a radical offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front, were taken into custody last week in Lucerne Valley, a desert community east of Los Angeles, while preparing to test improvised explosive devices.

According to a federal criminal complaint filed Saturday, the group intended to detonate a series of bombs at multiple targets in California starting on December 31. The plot included plans to attack Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles, authorities said. Each suspect faces federal charges of conspiracy and possession of a destructive device.

Investigators described the arrests as stemming from surveillance of a remote desert campsite where the suspects had gathered bomb-making materials. Court documents include photographs showing plastic folding tables covered with components such as PVC pipes of various sizes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder and fuse materials. Officials believe the group was in the...