Federal prosecutors in California have indicted four members of a left-wing group named the Turtle Island Liberation Front on charges they plotted to bomb multiple targets in Orange County and Los Angeles beginning on New Year’s Eve.

Bill Essayli: “This investigation was initiated in part due to the September 2025 executive order signed by President Trump to root out left-wing domestic terror organizations in our country, such as antifa and other radical groups like the Turtle Island Liberation Front.”

The indictment relies heavily on a paid FBI confidential informant. It was announced by Bill Essayli, a former California Republican lawmaker whom the Trump administration named interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in April. He’s now serving as first assistant U.S. attorney, after a federal judge ruled in October he’d been serving unlawfully as the district’s top prosecutor since July, since he was never confirmed by the Senate.

The indictment comes just days after FBI National Security Branch Operations Director Michael Glasheen appeared before the House Committee on Homeland Security, where he struggled to back up his claims that antifa was the “primary concern” and the “most immediate violent threat” facing the United States. This is Glasheen being questioned by Democratic Congressmember Bennie Thompson.

Michael Glasheen: “We share the same view. When you look at the data right now, you look at the domestic terrorist threat that we’re facing right now, what I see from my position is that’s the most immediate violent threat that we’re facing on the domestic side.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson: “So, where is antifa headquartered?”

Michael Glasheen: “What we’re doing right now with the organization” —

Rep. Bennie Thompson: “No, uh-uh. Where, in the United States, does
antifa exist, if it’s a terrorist organization and you’ve identified it as number one?”

Michael Glasheen: “We are building out the infrastructure right now.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson: “So, what does that mean?”