Two Bay Area men were charged with conspiracy in federal court in San Francisco on Thursday as federal prosecutors alleged the pair planned to firebomb the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento earlier this year.
Ian Benjamin Rogers, a 43-year-old Napa resident who was arrested in January after agents found five pipe bombs in his business, and 37-year-old Jarrod Copeland of Vallejo allegedly planned to attack Democratic-aligned targets after Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Those targets included the Governor's Mansion and the John L. Burton Democratic Headquarters in Sacramento, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release Thursday night. Copeland allegedly contacted an anti-government militia group, and the pair hoped their attacks would start a wider movement.
"Firebombing your perceived political opponents is illegal and does not nurture the sort of open and vigorous debate that created and supports our constitutional democracy," Stephanie Hinds, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, said in a statement. " … Investigation and prosecution of those who choose violence over discussion is as important as anything else we do to protect our free society."
Copeland and Rogers each face a charge of conspiracy to destroy by fire or explosive a building used or in affecting interstate commerce. The charge carries a maximum 20-year sentence upon conviction, as well as three-year supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
Rogers, if convicted, could face 10 years if convicted on one count of possessing unregistered destructive devices and three counts of possessing machine guns. Copeland, meanwhile, could serve a maximum of 20 years if convicted on an additional charge of destruction of records.
Rogers has been in state custody since Jan. 15, after investigators seized his cache of the pipe bombs, as many as 50 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Copeland was arrested on Wednesday in Sacramento, according to authorities.
Last December, Copeland messaged Rogers and told him he'd contacted the militia group, according to the indictment. The following month, Rogers messaged Copeland that "I want to blow up a (Democrat) building so bad."
They then agreed to attack the Democratic Party's Sacramento headquarters, and Rogers wrote on Jan. 11 that the pair would "go to war" after Jan. 20, the day of President Biden's inauguration.
After Rogers' arrest, the leader of a militia group allegedly told Copeland to delete all of his communications with Rogers and switch to a new platform. The Department of Justice said Copeland's messages with Rogers were missing when investigators obtained Copeland's devices on Jan. 17.
Copeland appeared in court Thursday, and will do so again on July 20 for a detention hearing. Rogers will have a status conference 10 days later.
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