Two alleged militiamen in Northern California who conspired to bomb the Democratic state headquarters in Sacramento and “wage war” during the 2020 presidential election have been sentenced to prison, federal prosecutors said.
Had police not intervened and foiled the attack, the men would have committed a “terrorist act,” U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer said at Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
“There was a plan, a design, a capability and the ability to firebomb the Democratic headquarters in Sacramento,” Breyer said.
Ian Benjamin Rogers, 46, of Napa was sentenced to nine years, and Jarrod Copeland, 39, of Vallejo was sentenced to four and a half years after both men pleaded guilty as part of plea deals with prosecutors.
Rogers and Copeland plotted because they were angry at President Trump’s November 2020 election loss, federal officials claimed.
The two men admitted that after the election they began discussing a plan to destroy the Democratic headquarters, using cans of gasoline to set the building on fire.
They looked online to study the building’s location and talked about the proximity of the fire department and law enforcement to come up with their plan, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.
Rogers and Copeland agreed to wait until after the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021 before carrying out the attack.
“Their decision to ‘go to war’ was based on their belief that they would rather destroy their political opponents’ building than admit they lost an election and rely on the political process to effect change,” US Atty. Stephanie M. Hinds said in a statement. “Prosecution and imprisonment await those who try to suppress the political process with fear and violence.”
According to an initial indictment, the two men also discussed other targets to attack, including the governor’s mansion and headquarters for Twitter and Facebook, which had locked down Trump’s accounts following the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Federal authorities seized dozens of firearms and five pipe bombs from Ian Benjamin Rogers’ home and business following his arrest.
(Napa County Sheriff’s Office)
Rogers’ arrest came just days after the deadly riot, in which right-wing and extremist groups, including militias, were found to have played a role in trying to overturn the results of the presidential election.
Much of that anger was also directed at governors for the restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and at social media companies for their decisions to restrict posts spreading unfounded electoral fraud conspiracies — and later temporarily ban Trump.
Prosecutors alleged that both men were members of a militia group and that Copeland contacted the group seeking advice after Rogers was arrested. A leader of the group suggested that Copeland erase his communications with Rogers.
The violent plot only came to light after a person close to Rogers reported him to the police.
As part of their investigation, federal officials seized a stash of weapons and explosives from Rogers’ home and business, including more than 45 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and five pipe bombs. Rogers also admitted to owning at least three fully automatic machine guns, which are illegal.
Rogers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to destroy a building with explosives, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, and one count of possession of an illegal machine gun as part of his plea deal.
Copeland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to destroy a building with explosives and one count of obstruction of justice.
