Biography
Tina Lai, of Glendale, California, is one of four people charged in the alleged Turtle Island Liberation Front New Year's Eve bombing plot. She is charged with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists and possession of an unregistered destructive device, and faces a statutory maximum of 25 years in federal prison.
The Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF) was described by federal prosecutors as an anti-capitalist and anti-government group. According to the December 2025 charges, members planned 'Operation Midnight Sun' — a coordinated attack to simultaneously detonate backpack pipe bombs at five or more locations targeting two U.S. companies in the greater Los Angeles area at midnight on New Year's Eve, and also discussed targeting ICE agents and vehicles. FBI agents arrested the four in the Mojave Desert on December 12, 2025, where the group had allegedly acquired materials and attempted test detonations. The Intercept subsequently reported that a longtime paid FBI informant had been instrumental in building the case, raising entrapment questions of the kind that have recurred in post-9/11 domestic terrorism prosecutions. All four pleaded not guilty and are being held without bond pending trial in the Central District of California.
The criminal complaint sworn December 13, 2025 identifies Tina Lai by the alias Kickwhere and explicitly records the four defendants’ FBI arrests on December 12 in the Lucerne Valley area of the Mojave Desert. The complaint initially alleged a conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371 and an unregistered destructive device under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). These initial allegations are distinct from the later indictment and do not establish a conviction or sentence. The affidavit describes a paid confidential source cooperating since August 2021 and an undercover officer; its planned attacks are allegations, not completed attacks. Source: https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/turtle-island-complaint-updated.pdf#page=5
