FBI Arrests Four in Terror Plot; Palm Springs Police Chief Praises Multi-Agency Response

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills emphasized the importance of unified law enforcement efforts following Friday's arrests of four people allegedly planning New Year's Eve terrorist attacks in Southern California.

"This gives me hope because of the unified effort from all law enforcement,” Mills said at Monday's FBI press conference. ”That people like this are removed from the community to make sure that all of us can live in peace." 

Mills confirmed the Palm Springs Police Department played "a very supportive role only, making sure that the FBI had what they needed in the desert to execute their mission." Specific details about the department's involvement remain unclear at this time.

Federal authorities announced that four suspects were arrested Friday in Lucerne Valley in San Bernardino County in connection with an alleged plot to bomb five targets in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Those arrested are Audrey Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41.

The suspects allegedly belong to an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian group called Turtle Island Liberation Front. They face charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

FBI officials said the four were arrested in the Mojave Desert while unloading bomb-making materials to construct and test explosives for coordinated attacks. According to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the group planned to detonate improvised explosive devices at multiple locations simultaneously at midnight on New Year's Eve, targeting at least five Amazon-type logistics centers. They also allegedly planned to target ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in January or February.

The FBI arrested a fifth individual in New Orleans believed connected to the same group for allegedly planning a separate attack.

The defendants were expected to appear before a magistrate judge Monday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles.