First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, told Newsmax that the five California residents recently arrested for planning a New Year’s Eve bomb attack in the state "hate America."
Essayli told Newsmax's "National Report" on Wednesday that, "These are the true antifa, anti-government. They hate America. They hate ICE. They want to destroy the country."
He confirmed the people involved were planning to set off explosive devices simultaneously at five locations around Southern California at midnight on New Year's Eve.
Essayli said the suspects did not appear to be motivated by anything other than their hatred of America. "These are not like your typical jihadists. These are more the antifa wing. They're the left wing. A few of them are members of the trans community. They're not religiously motivated."
He said those involved "actually oppose peaceful protesting. If you look at their social media, they think peaceful protesters are the problem. They want to accomplish their political objectives through violence, and that's what this group was about, and that's how we targeted them."
The group, he confirmed, labeled itself the Turtle Island Liberation Front, a name associated with far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government, anti-capitalist positions.
"Don't let their silly name fool you. They were using encrypted messaging platforms. They were using all kinds of tactics to try to evade law enforcement detection, and they were dead serious about what they wanted to accomplish on New Year's Eve."
He said that while those involved were secretive about their plot, others were aware of what was in the works. That, he said, highlights how Americans can help foil plots by reporting information about potential attacks.
"I will tell you, a lot of this work is done with human intelligence. So it's really important when people see something, they report it to the FBI so we can get some human intelligence working on it."
Essayli said federal investigators are continuing to track down others who may have had a hand in the bombing plot. "We believe we have everyone who's involved in this New Year's Eve plot. However, there are other members of this organization we are looking at."
He added it may be a while before the investigation is wrapped up. "We served search warrants throughout the nation over the weekend. We will be looking at other people involved in this left-wing radical group."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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