FBI

Federal authorities arrested four suspects Friday in Lucerne Valley in the Mojave Desert, charging them with conspiracy and possession of a destructive device after agents say they found bomb‑making components (PVC pipe, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur powder, and fuse material) as the group prepared to test improvised explosive devices. DOJ identified the suspects as members (or an offshoot) of the Turtle Island Liberation Front — described by AG Pam Bondi as far‑left, pro‑Palestine and anti‑government — and said they planned coordinated New Year’s Eve bombings across Southern California and targeted ICE agents and vehicles; DOJ and the FBI held a Los Angeles press conference to announce the disruption.

Twelve FBI agents who were fired after kneeling to de‑escalate a mixed crowd during a June 4, 2020 George Floyd protest filed a 47‑page lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., proceeding anonymously as Jane and John Does and represented by attorney Mary Dohrmann and the Washington Litigation Group, suing Kash Patel, former AG Pam Bondi, the FBI and the Department of Justice. The complaint says the agents—who lacked riot gear and say their kneeling prevented violence—were cleared by an FBI deputy director and faulted by the DOJ Inspector General as having no political motive, but were later removed after Patel cited “unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality”; plaintiffs allege partisan animus (citing Patel’s book), note that about 16 removed agents worked in counterintelligence/counterterrorism, and warn the firings make the country less safe.