An alleged extreme right-wing extremist in California, who carried a fake “white privilege” credit card, was charged with possession of tubular bombs and the police accused him of threatening to bomb Democratic lawmakers.
Ian Benjamin Rogers, 43, of Napa, was arrested on January 15 and charged in the criminal court in Napa County with illegal possession of a firearm. He was accused of possessing five tubular bombs that were unregistered destructive devices. Police officers and agents found them in his work office on the day he was arrested.
A large gun chest, which contained several weapons and five bombs, was found in Rogers’ work office. Authorities identified other materials on site that could be used to make destructive devices, including black powder, tubes, end caps and manuals, including The Anarchist Cookbook, US Army Improvised Ammunition Handbook, and C-4 A homemade recipe for survival.
Rogers’ home was also searched by police. At least 49 weapons were seized in the Napa man’s home and business, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Officers found a sticker on the window of Rogers’ vehicle that is commonly used by “Three percent”, a paramilitary group that attributes extremist anti-government and pro-gun beliefs.
The “three percent” refers to the belief that only three percent of American settlers fought against the British during the American Revolution in 1700. Many former and current military and police officers are members of the anti-establishment group, which was founded in 2008 when Democratic President Barack Obama was in power.
Authorities found a simulated credit card with the message “white privilege card outweighs everything” in Rogers’ possession, with the numbers “0045” repeated four times in the card number, referring to Donald Trump, the 45th US president.
US Department of Justice
“I know that many anti-government extremist militias are populated by white supremacists,” wrote Stephanie Minor, special agent for the FBI, in the statement issued by the Department of Justice. She said she believes the “0045” numbers are a reference to Trump.
In a lawsuit, investigators said Rogers claimed to have the tubular bombs for entertainment, but text messages retrieved from his phone indicate that the explosives would not be used for that purpose.
One said, “We can attack Twitter or the Democrats of your choice,” while another read “I think we can easily attack any of them.” A later message said, “I want to blow up a Democratic building” and other messages indicated that Rogers wanted to hit the Sacramento Capitol building, where the offices of California Governor Gavin Newsom are located.
The Special Prosecutions Section of the United States Public Prosecutor’s Office is processing the case as a result of an investigation by the FBI, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office and the Napa Special Investigations Bureau.
“We claim that Ian Benjamin Rogers had homemade bombs and the materials to make more,” Attorney General David L. Anderson said in a statement on Thursday. “We draw a clear line between illegality and our constitutional freedoms. We will prosecute illegal arms stocks regardless of the offender’s motivation ”.
Rogers is being held in state custody in lieu of a $ 5 million bail pending a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors plan to seek the presentation of Rogers in federal court, but the date has not yet been set. If convicted, Rogers faces up to 10 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine.
His text messages also indicated that he believed the baseless claim that former U.S. President Donald Trump won the November 2020 presidential election.
Jess Raphael, Rogers’ lawyer, said his client had a drinking problem and was an avid supporter of Trump. He added that Rogers was full of “bluster” after the Capitol riot in Washington, DC on January 6.
“He is a true follower of President Trump. He is a true believer,” Raphael told the Francisco Chronicle. “When President Trump says that they stole the election, he says that they stole the election. Basically, whatever the president said, he parroted.
“He was president and half the country believed the guy. They believed the lies. He was like tens of millions of other Americans,” said Raphael.
US Department of Justice