NAFPS Forum
General => Research Needed => Topic started by: educatedindian on December 18, 2025, 06:39:51 pm
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This is different from what we usually look at, a group alleged by Trump, Patel, and the FBI to be terrorists. The first thing we can see is that no one should be fooled by the name. No one accused is Native and the group has no NDNs known to be in it.
The other questions are if the group is even real, and if so were they set up by feds and Trump's people. The arrests are only a couple days old and already there's questions about supposed evidence against them.
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https://theintercept.com/2025/12/16/fbi-informant-turtle-island-terror-plot/
Longtime Paid FBI Informant Was Instrumental in Terror Case Against “Turtle Island Liberation Front”
Kash Patel and others touted the FBI’s investigative work, but the few available details point to a more complicated picture.
Noah Hurowitz, Trevor Aaronson
December 16 2025, 3:37 p.m.
An FBI investigation into an alleged terror plot in Southern California bears the familiar hallmarks of the bureau’s long-running use of informants and undercover agents to advance plots that might not otherwise have materialized, court documents show.
News of the plot surfaced Monday morning in a Fox News report that ran ahead of court filings or official statements. Within minutes, FBI officials amplified the story on social media.
“PROTECT THE HOMELAND and CRUSH VIOLENT CRIME,” wrote FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a former podcaster. “These words are not slogans, they’re the investigative pillars of this FBI.”
The informant and the undercover agent were involved in nearly every stage of the case.
What followed, however, painted a more complicated picture.
The limited details available suggest an investigation that leaned heavily on a paid informant and at least one undercover FBI agent, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. The informant and the undercover agent were involved in nearly every stage of the case, including discussions of operational security and transporting members of the group to the site in the Mojave Desert where federal agents ultimately made the arrests.
The informant, who has worked other cases on the FBI’s payroll since 2021, had been in contact with the group known as the Turtle Island Liberation Front since at least late November, just two months after President Donald Trump designated “antifa” a domestic terrorism organization.
On the morning of December 15, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests, calling the plot “a credible, imminent terrorist threat.”
Yet the case had the familiar markings of FBI terrorism stings that stretch back more than two decades — hundreds of cases that have disproportionately targeted left-wing activists and Muslims, and, less often, right-wing actors.
Since the September 11 attacks, the FBI has relied on informants to identify and build terrorism cases. The structure has created perverse incentives for potential informants. Their cooperation can get them out of criminal cases of their own and lead to handsome monetary compensation. The FBI’s call is simple: Bring cases, get paid.
Rick Smith, a security consultant and former FBI agent, said confidential sources are essential to investigative police work, but cautioned that they come with inherent baggage.
“They’re sources, they’re not ordinary citizens,” Smith said. “They have either been compromised in some way, or they’re going to be paid. Either way, they’ve got some sort of skin in the game. They’re getting something out of it.”
In the years after 2001 attacks, the FBI created a market for cases involving left-wing activists and Muslims. After the January 6 Capitol riot, the bureau made clear to informants that right-wing extremism was a priority. Now, under the second Trump administration, the federal government’s focus is again turning to perceived left-wing extremism.
In September, days after the terror designation of antifa, Trump outlined his administration’s war on the left in a memo titled National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, or NSPM-7, which called for the National Joint Terrorism Task Force to coordinate with local offices to investigate alleged federal crimes by political radicals. The head of the federal prosecutor’s office in Los Angeles said on Monday that the Turtle Island Liberation Front arrests stemmed from Trump’s executive order.
Key questions in the Turtle Island Liberation Front case, however, remain unanswered. It is still unclear how the FBI first identified the group or how long the informant had been embedded before the bomb plot emerged — a period defense attorneys say is central to any serious examination of entrapment, whereby defendants are coerced into crimes they would not otherwise commit, a frequent criticism of stings involving paid informants and undercover agents.
“The question that immediately popped into my mind was that: There’s a reference to a confidential human source, but there’s no indication of how that source came to be,” said Brad Crowder, an activist and union organizer who was convicted in a case of alleged violent protest plans that involved a confidential informant. “It’s not totally out of the realm of possibilities that this idea was planted or floated by whoever this confidential human source might be.”
Turtle Island Case
Despite comments from Attorney General Pam Bondi, Patel, and others characterizing the Turtle Island Liberation Front as a coherent group and a Signal chat called “Black Lotus” as an ultra-radical subset, there’s little evidence that any group by that name exists beyond a small digital footprint and a handful of attempts at organizing community events, including a self-defense workshop and a punk rock benefit show planned for February.
The Instagram page for the Turtle Island Liberation Front cited in the complaint had just over 1,000 followers as of Tuesday morning — after it was widely publicized — and its first post came in late July. The YouTube channel bearing the group’s name, which had just 18 subscribers as of Tuesday morning, was registered on July 17 and contains a single video posted on September 16.
Online, the group styled itself as radical and righteous. Its activists spoke in the language of solidarity with Palestinians and Indigenous people, railing against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and American power. On Instagram, they posted slogans and absolutes:
“Become a revolutionary.”
“America has always been the brutal evil monster that some of you don’t want to face.”
“Resistance is the deepest form of love.”
The informant did not, however, meet with the group on November 26 for its slogans.
According to the affidavit, the informant met up with Audrey Illeene Carroll, who went by the nickname Asiginaak. At the meeting, Carroll handed over eight pages covered with handwriting in blue ink. The document was titled “Operation Midnight Sun,” and laid out a plan to detonate backpack bombs at five separate locations on New Year’s Eve, when fireworks would mask the sound of explosions. The plan was unfinished. Beneath the list of targets were blank lines, marked: “add more if enough comrades.” (Carroll’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Over the following weeks, the plot advanced, according to court filings. A Signal group was created for, in the participants’ words, “everything radical,” including the bomb plan itself. On December 7, the supposed bomb plot expanded to include an undercover FBI agent. At that meeting, Carroll distributed pages describing how to build the bombs. She said she already had 13 PVC pipes cut to size and had ordered two five-pound bags of potassium nitrate from Amazon, believing naively that a burner account she set up was keeping her anonymous. Delivery was scheduled for December 11.
The FBI allowed the plan to progress, with both an informant and an undercover agent actively participating.
The FBI had visibility into nearly every part of the supply chain: chemicals ordered online and pistol primers purchased at a retail store. Agents could have intervened at any stage. They didn’t. Instead, the bureau allowed the plan to continue, with both an informant and an undercover agent actively participating in the conspiracy.
On December 12, the group drove into the desert with an aim of testing the bombs. They took two vehicles: the informant in one, the undercover agent in the other. Riding with the undercover agent was Zachary Aaron Page, who went by the nickname AK. He suggested using cigarettes as a delayed fuse. In the other car, Carroll told another member that the desert exercise was a dry run for the New Year’s Eve attack.
“What we’re doing will be considered a terrorist act,” she said, according to the affidavit. At the site, they pitched tents and set up tables. They laid out PVC pipes, charcoal, sulfur, gasoline, string, cloth, and protective gear. As they began assembling the devices, the FBI moved in. Overhead, an FBI surveillance plane recorded the scene as agents took into custody four alleged members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front including Carroll and Page, along with Tina Lai and Dante Gaffield. (An attorney for Page declined to comment, and lawyers for Gaffield and Lai did not immediately respond.)
“Nonpartisan Incentive Structure”
Terrorism prosecutions built around confidential informants have long drawn criticism, particularly over the risk of entrapment.
For more than a decade, legal scholars have argued that while these cases often resemble classic government inducement, they rarely meet the legal standard for entrapment. Courts define predisposition so broadly that ideological sympathy or recorded rhetoric is treated as evidence of a preexisting willingness to commit violence — a framework that effectively shields government-manufactured plots from meaningful judicial scrutiny....
Because informants can be so instrumental in building cases, their use can be leveraged by authorities to focus resources on investigations with more political overtones....
Part of the playbook, Crowder said, is for an informant to exploit their targets’ “righteous anger” — in the case of the Turtle Bay Liberation Front, rights violations in Palestine and ICE actions in Los Angeles. From there, authorities take advantage of the allege plotters’ political immaturity, walking hand in hand with them as they cross the line from legal dissent into illegal conspiracy.
The informant gets paid, the FBI gets a good headline that justifies their anti-terrorism budget, and the defendants are left to face the consequences, often without ever posing a real threat to public safety, Crowder said.
“On both sides you have a sort of momentum that develops,” Crowder said. “This ICE repression is crazy, and that feeds into a sort of hopelessness that drives a sort of nihilistic response that you see from people who have immature politics. And then that heartfelt but immature and irresponsible response plays into the incentive structure of the FBI.”
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/16/turtle-island-liberation-front-los-angeles-terror-plot/87790593007/
....The four suspects, who prosecutors charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device, were accused of being members of an >>>offshoot<<< of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, or TILF, a group federal officials said is motivated by extremist pro-Palestinian, anti-law-enforcement and anti-government ideology.
More: 4 arrested in New Year’s Eve bombing plot in California, FBI says
FBI Director Kash Patel accused the suspects – Audrey Ilene Carroll, 30; Dante Garfield, 24; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; and Tina Lai, 41– of planning an attack involving improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, to bomb at least five businesses throughout Los Angeles and Orange County.
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Nov. 12, 2025
The defendants also allegedly discussed targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and vehicles with pipe bombs, according to a charging document, which accuses Carroll of saying "That would take some of them out and scare the rest of them.”
USA TODAY could not immediately reach the suspects' legal representation. A fifth person was arrested by the FBI in New Orleans, Patel said, for allegedly "planning a separate violent attack." That suspect, the director said, is also believed to be linked to TILF.
What is the Turtle Island Liberation Front?
The “Turtle Island Liberation Front – LA Chapter" is described on its social media page as being devoted to “Liberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty," according to the complaint, which alleges the group is "an anti-capitalist, anti-government movement."
[So no longer the whole group but just in one city.]
A review of the group's Instagram account shows it has 1,010 followers. It's first post, a fundraiser for Palestinian families, indigenous people and "anti ICE" efforts, dates back to July.
A federal complaint said the suspects were all part of a Signal group chat called "Order of the Black Lotus," a purported >>>offshoot<<< of the TILF group, which one of the suspects described as being "radical."
Posters and materials found in FBI's search of suspect Audrey Carroll's residence
“TILF also calls for the working class to rise up and fight back against capitalism,” the complaint says. “Moreover, TILF advocates that liberalism and peaceful protest will be the downfall of those who believe it is enough, and that ‘direct action is the only way.’”
During a search of the suspects' homes, investigators discovered multiple posters associated with the Turtle Island group and other evidence, including a detailed copy of the planned attack.
Turtle Island is a term long used by indigenous tribes to describe the creation of North America, according to the United Nations. It stems from the believe that the Earth was created on the back of a giant turtle.
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Posters as "evidence" make it clear the group was targeted for its beliefs.
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https://abc7.com/post/southern-california-terror-plot-what-know-group-turtle-island-liberation-front/18289884/
...."Mary," explaining the group's name. "So that's what the natives called it - was Turtle Island," the person, whose face is concealed, says in the video. "So that's the de-colonized name of the Americas. And Turtle Island Liberation Front is looking for reparations and land back for these indigenous groups."
....[One member] allegedly told an FBI informant that she has a, "notebook where I wrote down multiple plans that >>>never happened<<<..."
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A federal website says three times actually they were going to target "companies."
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/four-defendants-arrested-alleged-anti-capitalist-and-anti-government-plot-bomb-us-companies
Four Defendants Arrested for Alleged Anti-Capitalist and Anti-Government Plot to Bomb U.S. Companies on New Year’s Eve
Monday, December 15, 2025
For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs
Four members of an anti-capitalist and anti-government group that calls for violence against U.S. officials have been arrested for allegedly plotting to attack two U.S. companies with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) this New Year’s Eve.
“The Turtle Island Liberation Front — a far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, and anti-capitalist group — was preparing to conduct a series of bombings against multiple targets in California beginning on New Year’s Eve. The group also planned to target ICE agents and vehicles,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi...
“The charges made public today show the FBI and our partners disrupted a dangerous New Year's Eve plot to simultaneously target two U.S. companies with multiple explosive devices,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “
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A Reddit thread is not the best source I realize. Every claim needs to be backed up elsewhere. But there are some links within the thread that try to do that.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/behindthebastards/comments/1pnmwby/the_turtle_island_liberation_front_is_a_fictional/
r/behindthebastards
3d ago
Gash_Stretchum
The Turtle Island Liberation Front is a fictional organization created by an indie game developer in 2021.
r/behindthebastards - The Turtle Island Liberation Front is a fictional organization created by an indie game developer in 2021.
The organization never existed. It was part of a fictional character’s backstory. If you look at the mentions before the FBI’s announcement, it looks obviously fake.
Anyone on the internet encouraging you to commit violence is a Fed.
Comments Section
princess_raven
3d ago
This, apparently. Haven't read through all of it but it appears the FBI is referencing a fictional group to justify real world actions goaded some folks into doing something indictable.
https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/turtle-island-liberation-front-complaint.pdf
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CascadianSausages
3d ago
I thought it was this group - https://www.instagram.com/turtleislandliberationfrontla
Their postings seem a bit on the nose, but who am I to fault their passion for graphic design
Gash_Stretchum
OP
3d ago
You mean that 6 month old account with no engagement that has 10x more follows than followers. That account doesn’t confirm anything that the FBI said about the org.
VVetSpecimen
3d ago
Who’s calling Midnight Books in LA to see if that event went down back in May?
Gash_Stretchum
OP
3d ago
Who’s in LA to confirm that Midnight Books even exist. The Google Maps photo is of an “Outdoor Supply Company”. None of its plausible enough to justify any real world investigation.
ZestyChinchilla
3d ago
Digging around a little, it looks like 942 2nd St (where Midnight Books is supposedly located) is a commercial building with multiple businesses. However, all of those businesses list a suite number in their address… wanna guess who doesn’t? Besides that, I can see various signs in windows for the other businesses in that building, but absolutely nothing indicating there’s a book store in there. Their website is very basic, with little content, like it was made in an afternoon. Not sayin it’s not legit, but….
I did find a Wikipedia entry for a former LA bookstore called Midnight Special Books, that actually was an explicitly leftist bookstore that just so happened to carry a lot of the same subjects that this supposed bookstore does. Ready for the fun part? Midnight Special Books closed in 2004.
I’m not saying this is definitely some fabricated conspiracy, but what do you think the odds are that they used the basic details of a bookstore that existed 20+ years ago (including a shockingly similar name), picked a plausible address in an art district, and made the whole thing up?
I dunno, but this whole thing seems…kinda hinky.
Scryberwitch
2d ago
No, Midnight Books is an actual place - you got the address wrong: it's 941 E. 2nd St. Here's their Insta: https://www.instagram.com/midnightbooksla/
But yeah, I think this whole case smells funny...
Forsaken-Half8524
2d ago
There seems to be a Midnight Press with a bookstore and community space.
GroundbreakingHand7
2d ago
So yeah I'm bored at work and dug around. Midnight Books is very real, their IG is midnightbooksla. You may note it looks like social media run by actual people. There is NO mention of this fundraiser at all nor do any of the posts on the TILF's IG page tag them correctly. Curious!!! also they post someone's like, super fake looking candle account? lmfao.
too bad they got arrested before their Punk Show happened..
moss42069
3d ago
If you look at the posts the account is tagged in, you can see pics/vids from the event. I think the government is just framing random activists.
maddsskills
3d ago
Is there an easy way to search their followers for location? Because someone supposedly connected with the group got arrested here in Louisiana, New Iberia to be specific. They haven’t released their name but they might follow the account?
oht7
2d ago
This is all based on an ARG video game. If you’re not familiar that’s a hybrid kind of video game that bleeds into reality - basically LARPing.
So this is all fictional. People were pretending to be these revolutionaries. It’s all based on a. Video game where furries band together after a failed invasion of America by China leads to a fascist regime within America taking over.
Murraybird
3d ago
Comment Image
A photo of the secret bomb-making lab they found.... Seriously.
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u/Unable-Shock-2686 avatar
Unable-Shock-2686
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3d ago
I’m dumb but I’m not a fucking moron. This setup is so bad it almost got me to describe how and where I would make explosives so I think that’s what the deep state was going for taking that pic.
OisforOwesome
3d ago
So glad they had hand sanitiser
Be_The_Packet
2d ago
I was thinking the rubiks cube
Sweet-Safety-1486
2d ago
The suspects “all brought bomb-making components to the campsite, including various sizes of PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder, and material to be used as fuses, among others,” the complaint states.
Those are the ingredients for fireworks.
Forsaken-Half8524
2d ago
They have an Instagram account with mostly normal stuff, fundraiser at a bookstore, free our comrade, food drive, pop up market for Palestine. It seems like someone in LA might have heard of them if they are a thing. Naming a group after a fictional group doesn't seem that farfetched.
BUT, the insta only goes back to July and it's only got 41 posts.
DaveCarradineIsAlive
1d ago
What's the name of the game? Having some trouble finding it, and would like to have the confirmation.
https://www.reddit.com/r/behindthebastards/comments/1pnmwby/the_turtle_island_liberation_front_is_a_fictional/
Gash_Stretchum
OP 1d ago
That’s sorta my point. The game doesn’t seem to exist. A lotta folks are talking about people co-opting fictional language from popular forms of fiction but this ain’t that.
How can a fanbase co-opt this if there’s no game or no fanbase?