Federal authorities arrest four suspected extremists in California

Officials said the four suspects were arrested near the desert city of Twentynine Palms, California, home to a Marine Corps base.

Essayli said the four are all from the Los Angeles area. He said one of the suspects created a detailed plan to bomb five or more locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve.

“It included step-by-step instructions to build IEDs … and listed multiple targets across Orange County and Los Angeles,” Essayli said.

Evidence photos included in the court documents show a desert campsite with what investigators said were bomb-making materials strewn across plastic folding tables.

The suspects “all brought bomb-making components to the campsite, including various sizes of PVC pipes, suspected potassium nitrate, charcoal, charcoal powder, sulfur powder, and material to be used as fuses, among others,” the complaint states.

Federal authorities planned a Monday morning news conference to discuss the arrests.