An alleged far-right extremist and radicalized supporter of former President Trump facing federal charges of explosives may have targeted California Governor Gavin Newsom and the headquarters of social media giants Twitter and Facebook in the San Francisco Bay area of according to the FBI.
Federal prosecutors accused Ian Benjamin Rogers, 43, of Napa County, for possessing five homemade bombs that investigators found when they searched his home and auto shop on January 15. They also confiscated additional bomb-making material along with 49 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
According to an FBI statement, Rogers made several threats in text messages to attack Democratic targets and ensure that Trump remained in office.
In the texts, Rogers stated: “Let’s see what happens and then we act” and later added: “I’m thinking about the first target of the bag’s office” and “So, maybe, the bird and face offices”.
FBI special agent Stephanie Minor, who is part of the agency’s domestic terrorist squad in San Francisco, said the texts were indications of her targets.
“I believe that when Rogers said,” first target of the sac office, “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 referred to the Twitter (‘bird’) and Facebook (‘face’) offices, because both social media platforms had blocked Trump’s accounts to prevent him from sending messages on these platforms, ”according to the statement, released by the office of David L. Anderson, US Attorney General in the Northern California District.
Rogers also said in a text that he “would not fall without a fight,” according to the federal criminal complaint.
His arrest came less than two weeks after a deadly riot at the United States Capitol on January 6 led by far-right extremists and Trump supporters who believe that the November election was stolen from the former president through fraud, a falsehood promoted by Trump for months.
The authorities in Sacramento have increased security on Capitol Hill and at key locations, including the governor’s home, for weeks due to the threat of attack after the contentious presidential election and violence in Washington. Thousands of National Guard soldiers were stationed in Sacramento and access to the Capitol was limited by barricades.
For weeks since the election, pro-Trump supporters have met in Sacramento. Associated with these events, there were more than half a dozen fights between anti-fascist counter-protesters and extreme right groups, including the Proud Boys.
A Newsom spokeswoman confirmed that the governor was informed of the allegations and is cooperating with the investigation.
“The information contained in the federal criminal complaint about Ian Rogers is a very real reminder of the frightening consequences that dangerous political rhetoric can have, especially in encouraging violent extremism,” said Sahar Robertson in a statement released on Wednesday. “Our democracy depends on the ability of all legislators, regardless of party affiliation, to legislate and carry out their functions without fear of violence.”
Tubular bombs and weapons were found during searches at Rogers’ home and at the British Auto Repair of the Napa Valley auto shop by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, Napa Special Investigations Bureau and the FBI.
Henry Wofford, public information officer at the sheriff’s office, said his agency started investigating Rogers after a person close to him reported that he had guns and “was potentially dangerous to the community.” Wofford said the sheriff’s delegates had carried out search warrants at Rogers’ home and company, finding weapons at both locations.
Inside a safe in Rogers’ workshop, five tubular bombs were also found, Wofford said. In all, the authorities seized 49 weapons and 15,000 rounds of ammunition. Wofford said many of these weapons are likely to be illegal in California, including a “high-powered machine gun”.
Federal charges against Rogers were filed on Tuesday.
“We draw a clear line between illegality and our constitutional freedoms. We will prosecute illegal arms stocks regardless of the offender’s motivation, ”said Anderson in a statement released on Wednesday.
Napa County Dist. Atty. Allison Haley said Rogers also faces 28 criminal charges in state court for possession of explosives and weapons, including possession of an illegal silencer and several unregistered assault weapons.
Haley said the tubular bombs were made of galvanized steel, had covers and fuses, could kill one person within 5 feet and injure another at 25 feet. After his arrest, Rogers told investigators that he had built the pipe bombs, but said they were for entertainment purposes only, according to the statement.
In addition to the weapons, investigators also found what Haley described as a “travel bag”, which contained weapons, ammunition, bulletproof vests, face masks and a hook. Rogers is scheduled for an indictment against the state charges on January 29. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.
Both Hailey and the FBI said Rogers had a bumper sticker on his car with a Three Percent badge. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, described the group as a national organization of “2nd amendment insurgents” whose members “claim that when the government acts tyrannical, they have the subjective right of armed rebellion. “
The Three Percenters have also been linked to a violent conspiracy to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. Six men were charged with this plot, and one pleaded guilty on Wednesday.
Much of the anger of the right-wing anti-government militias has been directed at governors because of pandemic stop orders that they claim are violations of their rights and represent an illegal extrapolation of power, beliefs that have spread on online forums. In protests against pandemic-related closings across California, some protesters described Newsom as a fascist for implementing these restrictions and regularly displayed an image of the governor as Adolf Hitler, with a slogan that says “end your tyranny”.