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According to Los Angeles magazine, agents discovered a makeshift bomb-building site hidden under a tent in the desert.
“Card tables trekked into the desert were crowded with the materials they needed, pistol primers, shoelaces, PVC pipes, plastic tubs of potassium nitrate, all shielded from the sun by an overhead tent, along with stickers that read ‘Free Palestine,’” the outlet reported.
The attack plan—dubbed “Operation Midnight Sun”—was designed to exploit New Year’s Eve fireworks as cover. Prosecutors say the suspects intended to quietly place backpacks filled with explosives inside five commercial facilities, then detonate them simultaneously at midnight.
Authorities declined to name the targeted locations, but Essayli revealed they were “logistic centers” similar to those operated by companies like Amazon—critical infrastructure sites that could have caused mass casualties and economic disruption.
Even more disturbing, court documents show the terror campaign did not end with the bombings. The suspects allegedly planned follow-up attacks on federal immigration agents. According to the indictment, the goal was to “take some of them out and scare the rest of them.”
Federal officials identified Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30, as the leader and ideological driver of the group. Carroll previously worked as an intern for Illinois Democrat Rep. Tammy Duckworth and volunteered for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign.
She was also involved with NEXT, a radical social justice organization, where she reportedly ran online attack campaigns. Her profile with the group claimed she was motivated by “my generation’s zero-tolerance policy for hatred and injustice.”
However, federal investigators say Carroll’s private communications painted a far more extreme picture. On social media, she described herself as a “Hamas fan girl.” According to the FBI, Carroll also admitted in a text message that she keeps what she referred to as “my terrorist diary.”
Another suspect, Zachary Page, identifies as a transgender woman and reportedly has a wife and a four-year-old son. Court filings indicate Page shared Carroll’s extreme ideology and hostility toward the United States and Israel.
The two suspects exchanged explicit messages advocating mass violence. In one text, Page wrote:
“death to israel death to the usa death to colonizers death to settler-coloniasm [SIC].”
Carroll responded without hesitation:
“Death to them all, burn it all down.”
Federal agents also arrested a fifth individual during the investigation after that person allegedly threatened FBI agents while a search warrant was being executed. Although not directly tied to the bombing plot, the arrest underscores the volatility surrounding the case.
The FBI credited coordinated intelligence work and undercover operations with preventing what could have been one of the most devastating domestic terror attacks in recent Los Angeles history. Officials emphasized that the case highlights the growing threat posed by radicalized extremist networks operating under the banner of political activism.
As the suspects await prosecution, the case is raising renewed questions about political extremism, lax accountability, and how radical ideologies are allowed to incubate within activist circles that receive little scrutiny from the mainstream media.
