The FBI on Wednesday conducted an early morning raid at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove following a near chemical disaster that prompted approximately 50,000 Orange County residents to evacuate.
Federal vehicles and dozens of agents arrived at the facility Wednesday morning.
"EPA Special Agent Sawyer Rotell filed a search warrant last week to rifle through the GKN Aerospace facility in search of documents or devices related to an alleged environmental crime the company may have committed by allowing the hazardous methyl methacrylate to leak last month," the New York Post reports.
Feds raid Garden Grove chemical plant that sparked mass evacuations with explosion fears https://t.co/ESl9DIAgDQ pic.twitter.com/4qgnIoqgfK
— New York Post (@nypost) June 10, 2026
More from the New York Post:
Agents have been searching the complex since around 8am, and at one point were seen heading into the area where the chemical tank that threatened to explode is located.
ADVERTISEMENTA big blue tent was set up in the facility’s parking lot.
Essayli said experts, including chemists and scientists, were flown in from across the country to assist with the investigation.
“When there’s a failure in the tanks and it caused a massive evacuation, impacted 50,000 residents, we have an obligation to figure out whether any crimes are committed,” Essayli said. “We presented that to a judge, and the judge agreed that we had sufficient probable cause to search for additional evidence.”
“We’ve got chemists, they’re doing soil samples, they’re doing all kinds of things,” Essayli, who is the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, added.
Meanwhile, residents have expressed their frustrations with GKN and local officials about the terrifying incident.
"We cannot sleep at night with the GKN monster under our beds," one woman said at a special city council meeting, according to CBS News.
#BREAKING: Federal authorities are serving a search warrant at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, where a compromised chemical tank carrying a toxic chemical forced the evacuation of nearly 50,000 people for several days last month. https://t.co/KuLtz2T4lZ pic.twitter.com/PqXdLGwbXa
— KTLA (@KTLA) June 10, 2026
CBS News shared further:
GKN's Garden Grove location Senior Vice President Steve Carlin was in attendance at the meeting, where he heard concerns directly from residents and city council members. While they had already announced community support initiatives and a $3 million donation to the Orange County United Way's OC Community Resilience Fund, many are still wondering how they'll be reimbursed for the money they spent to find shelter for their families and pets, or missed work.
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