A group described as far-left extremists is accused of plotting to kill ICE officers following a New Year’s Eve terror scheme aimed at American businesses.
According to federal prosecutors, four members of the strangely named “Black Lotus Cult,” a splinter faction of the “anti-capitalist” Turtle Island Liberation Front, intended to plant pipe bombs at two businesses in Los Angeles.
Their plan included attacking federal immigration agents and their vehicles with pipe bombs, targeting a timeline around January or February 2026. The criminal complaint indicated they anticipated these explosions would result in “the loss of some personnel and the fear of others.”
The New Year’s Eve initiative, referred to as “Operation Midnight Sun,” involved planting backpacks filled with explosives at the bases of two companies, as detailed in a handwritten plan discovered by investigators.
Four individuals were arrested: Audrey Carroll (30), who goes by “Ashiginak” and “Black Moon”; Zachary Page, 32, also known as “Ash Kerrigan,” “AK,” and “Daughter of Cthul”; Dante Garfield, 24, referred to as “Cedar” or “Nomad”; and Tina Lai (41), nicknamed “kickwhere.”
The search warrant revealed signs expressing messages like “Death to America,” “Death to ICE,” and “Long live Tarsul Island and Palestine,” officials stated on Monday.
The arrests took place in Lucerne Valley, located in the Mojave Desert, where the suspects were recorded on video attempting to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED), as reported by Los Angeles First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essairi during a news conference.
All suspects face charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
Additionally, a fifth, unnamed suspect was apprehended in New Orleans while planning a separate attack.
