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In December 2025, four of its alleged members were arrested on federal terrorism charges for planning bombings of corporate-logistics facilities in the Los Angeles area. 2 That same month, another alleged member was charged with planning an attack in Louisiana allegedly connected to federal immigration-law enforcement operations. 3
Background
The Turtle Island Liberation Front is a radical-left, anti-capitalist militant activist group that combines pro-Palestinian advocacy with opposition to the United States government. 1
The Turtle Island Liberation Front promotes a radical-left, “anticolonialist” philosophy that combines Palestinian sovereignty over the territory of modern-day Israel, opposition to the United States government, anti-capitalism, and other radical-left positions. 1 It promotes “tribal sovereignty” as a replacement for modern government structures. 4
The organization appears to be relatively small in size, with limited social-media followings. 1 4 The Instagram account for its founding Los Angeles chapter had roughly 900 followers as of December 2025. 1
Origin of Name
The term “Turtle Island” is used as a name for North America as a way to signal opposition to European colonialism and the United States as a governmental entity by Native American/Canadian First Nations and radical-left activists. 5 6 While it is frequently presented as belonging to a generic “Native American” philosophy, it is a specific reference to creation stories of the Algonquin, Iroquois, Ojibwe, and other associated tribes in what is now the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. 5 Other tribes and native peoples across North America had conflicting creation stories. 7
Terrorism Plots
In December 2025, four alleged members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front were arrested in California on federal terrorism charges, including conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. 2 Federal prosecutors said the activists had been planning to set off bombs at corporate logistics centers in Los Angeles and Orange County on New Year’s Eve at midnight. 8 Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lai were arrested by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force officers as they allegedly gathered to test the explosives in the Mojave Desert. 8
Another alleged TILF member, Micah James Legnon, was arrested in Louisiana and charged with making threats in interstate commerce in connection to a reported plot to carry out a planned attack in New Orleans connected to immigration enforcement operations in that area. 8 3 Court filings disclosed that Legnon, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested on a Louisiana highway with a rifle, a pistol, a gas canister, and body armor in his car. 8 A further search of his residence reportedly found sniper and SWAT training materials, more firearms, and more ammunition. 3