Glendale woman pleads not guilty to alleged Southern California bomb plot
A Glendale woman who is one of four members of what federal law enforcement officials call a far-left anti-government group that allegedly planned a series of bomb attacks across Southern California on New Year's Eve pleaded not guilty on Friday to terrorism-related felonies.
Tina Lai, nicknamed "Kickwhere," entered her not guilty plea in Los Angeles federal court on Friday to one count of providing material support to terrorists and one count of possession of unregistered firearms.
According to the indictment, Lai,41, and the other defendants are all from the Los Angeles area and part of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, an anti-capitalist and anti-government group.
The three other defendants, Audrey Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; and Dante Gaffield, 24, also face the same two charges. Carroll and Page are further charged with one count each of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Federal officials said defendant Carroll created a "detailed bombing plot" in November and provided it to an FBI source.
The "bomb plot was explicit," and included instructions for building the devices and targets across Orange County and Los Angeles, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say the "detailed, coordinated plot" included planting backpacks filled with explosive devices at multiple businesses that were set to blow up simultaneously at midnight on Dec. 31. The companies were not named, but referred to as "Amazon-type" logistical centers.
The group also allegedly planned to target U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and vehicles with pipe bombs in the ensuing months, prosecutors said.
The four suspects were arrested Dec. 12 in the Mojave Desert as they were allegedly readying to build and test explosives. Prosecutors say they had gathered bomb-making materials, including potassium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal, and pipes.
An affidavit from the FBI said that the co-conspirators unloaded bomb-making materials from cars and started to assemble the materials on a table under a tent while they were in the Mojave Desert.
Footage taken by a surveillance plane showed the defendants gathering in the desert to test the bombs. The FBI intervened before they finished assembling a functional bomb, according to the court filings.
If convicted as charged, Lai and Gaffield could face up to 25 years behind bars, and Carroll and Page could face up to life in federal prison. Lai's trial was tentatively set for Feb. 12.