A northern California man held on $ 5 million bail after FBI investigators found five “fully operational” bombs and an illegal weapons stockpile at his home and business two weeks ago planned to blow up offices owned by Governor Gavin Newsom , as well as Facebook and Twitter, prosecutors say.
Ian Benjamin Rogers, 44, of Napa, California, also had a sticker on his vehicle commonly used by the so-called “Three percent”, and officers executing search warrants also found a “White Privilege Card” and several weapons-related manuals, including some from the US Army, as well as “The Anarchist Cookbook,” said FBI investigators.
Rogers was charged on Tuesday in a federal criminal complaint of possession of five tubular bombs that were unregistered destructive devices, Federal Attorney David L. Anderson and FBI Special Agent Craig D. Fair announced in a statement on Wednesday. market.
If convicted, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000, according to prosecutors.
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He was arrested on January 15, the same day that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Napa County Sheriff’s Office and Napa Special Investigations Bureau executed a search warrant for his home and business in Napa County. A total of 49 firearms were seized at both locations, as well as about two dozen boxes of ammunition containing thousands of rounds of ammunition, officials said.
Several of the firearms, including what appears to be a replica of a belt-powered MG-42 machine gun kit, appear to be capable of fully automatic firing, FBI agent Stephanie Minor, assigned to the domestic terrorist squad at the Camp. San Francisco of the FBI Office, wrote in a statement filed in support of the criminal action filed against Rogers.
Five barrel bombs were found inside a safe at Roger’s store, as well as other materials that could be used to make destructive devices, including black powder, pipes, end caps and manuals, including “The Anarchist Cookbook”, the “US Army Improvised Munitions Handbook,” and “C-4 A homemade recipe for survival,” according to the statement. Two copies of the “US Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare” and a “US Army Guerrilla Warfare Manual” were also discovered.
FBI agents found five bombs in a safe at Rogers’ company. (Department of Justice)
The sticker found on Roger’s vehicle is believed to be commonly used by so-called “three percent”, who are “people who believe in radical anti-government and pro-gun beliefs,” wrote Minor, citing his training, experience and discussions with other agents experienced in domestic terrorism investigations. The use of “three percent” is a reference to the belief that only 3% of American settlers fought against the British during the American Revolution, the statement said.
The officers also found a “White Privilege Card”, which included the statement “Trumps Tudo” and the numbers “0045” repeated four times “to make it look like a credit card number”, which Minor said were references to the former President Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States.
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In an interview after his arrest, Rogers allegedly admitted that he had built the tubular bombs, but said that “they were for entertainment purposes only” – although additional evidence suggests otherwise, according to the statement.
Minor said text messages retrieved from Rogers’ phone allegedly demonstrated his belief that Trump “won the 2020 presidential election and his intention to attack Democrats and Democratic-associated places in an effort to ensure that Trump remained in office.”
“We can attack Twitter or the Democrats of your choice,” Rogers reportedly wrote in a text message on January 10 to someone else, adding, “I think we can easily attack both.” The recipient suggested that they go after George Soros, to which Rogers replied, “We can attack Twitter and the Democrats easily right now, burn them.”
The officers found a “White Privilege Card” while executing search warrants at Rogers’ home and business. (Department of Justice)
“I want to blow up a Democratic building,” Rogers reportedly wrote in another text message to the same person the next day. He continued: “We will see what happens, if nothing happens, I will go to war”.
“Democrats, Twitter, etc.,” Rogers reportedly wrote, adding, “I hope 45 will go to war if he doesn’t, I will.”
His forthcoming text messages apparently suggested attacks on the California Democratic governor’s office, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, all located in northern California, officials said.
“Let’s see what happens and then take action,” Rogers reportedly wrote, adding, “I’m thinking of the fate of the bag office first” and “Then maybe the bird and face offices.”
The officers found a “Three Percenter” sticker on Rogers’ truck. (Department of Justice)
The statement concludes, “that when Rogers said, ‘the office’s first target’, he meant that his first target should be the offices of California Governor Gavin Newsom in Sacramento.”
“I also believe that when Rogers said that the ‘bird and face’ offices would be next, he was referring to the Twitter (‘bird’) and Facebook (‘face’) offices, because both social media platforms blocked accounts Trump to avoid sending messages on these platforms, “wrote Minor.
An examination and tests conducted by a bomb technician from the Napa County Sheriff’s Office on the five bombs seized from Rogers’s business concluded that Rogers had “built 5 improvised explosive devices that were fully operational and could cause major bodily harm or injury. if handled incorrectly. ”
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Rogers appeared in the Napa County criminal court on state charges of possession of an illegal firearm and is being held in state custody instead of $ 5 million bail, pending a preliminary hearing.
Federal prosecutors intend to seek Rogers’ court appearance in federal court on charges of the complaint “by issuing a federal order to transfer Rogers to the United States District Court in San Francisco,” the Northern California District Attorney said in his press release Wednesday. The date of such an appearance has not yet been set.