SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Two California men who pleaded guilty to planning to firebomb the state Democratic Party headquarters and other buildings in Northern California after the defeat of former President Donald Trump were sentenced Wednesday to federal prison.
Ian Benjamin Rogers, of Napa, was sentenced to nine years in prison as part of a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to destroy a building in Sacramento by fire or explosives, possessing an explosive device and possessing a machine gun.
Rogers’ co-defendant, Jarrod Copeland, was sentenced to three years in prison after a brief closed hearing, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Rogers’ sentence comes six months after US District Judge Charles E. Breyer initially rejected a proposed plea agreement, saying he was concerned that Rogers had shown no remorse for his actions when he told probation officers to report before sentencing that he felt bad. to put himself in a situation “that allowed the government to ruin my life.” Breyer said he was concerned that Rogers could pose a danger to the community.
Breyer ordered Rogers to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before deciding on a sentence.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, the judge said a University of California, San Francisco psychiatrist who examined Rogers found the former auto repair shop owner could be a productive member of society if he underwent treatment for alcoholism.
Breyer said he considered the report and a three-page handwritten letter filed by Rogers after the preliminary sentencing hearing that the judge said he found “sincere” in deciding to accept the plea deal that called for a sentence of seven to nine years. federal prison.
“At the time, I believed this election was stolen,” Rogers wrote in a letter to the judge. “At that time, I believed what the Trump administration said. At that time, I was in a dark place in my life and I was abusing alcohol and acting out, in part, because of that. I was wrong.”
Rogers told a judge Wednesday that he is battling a drinking problem that has worsened due to the pandemic while seeing his business’s revenue drop by 40%.
“Unfortunately for me, I said a lot of stupid stupid things that I didn’t mean when I was sitting at home and drunk,” said Rogers. “I’m sorry for everything I said, but I can assure you that I was never serious. He was just a fool, his mind was drunk.
Chairman of the Democratic Party of California Rusty Hicks told the judge and said that the learning of the plot caused mental and emotional harm to about two dozen employees and volunteers who regularly leave the headquarters of the party, and who asked the party to invest more money in security. building.
“When we have become pretty accustomed to the red-hot political rhetoric of today’s political landscape, we were definitely shocked to see that this party is the intended target for political violence,” Hicks said.
Hicks said she agreed to the deal because the party “has a long-standing commitment to restorative justice and a strong belief in the power and possibility of redemption for everyone.”
Prosecutors said Rogers and his associate, Jarrod Copeland, used an encrypted messaging app to tell Copeland to plan attacks with Molotov cocktails and gasoline on several targets, including the Democratic Party headquarters, the Governor’s Mansion, and buildings for social media companies Facebook and Twitter. . Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family do not live in the mansion.
“I want to blow up the ugly democrat building,” Rogers wrote on one of the messaging apps he used to communicate with Copeland, according to the indictment. In a separate message, he said that after Democratic President Joe Biden was inaugurated, “we are going to war.”
The couple “hope the attack will spark a movement,” prosecutors said when they announced the charges in July 2021.
Napa County Sheriff’s Office deputies obtained a search warrant after receiving an anonymous tip that Rogers had illegal guns and, after searching his home and business, seized nearly 50 firearms, including four automatic rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition and five pipe bombs, prosecutors said. .
Rogers also faces illegal possession of a firearm and bomb in Napa County, where his next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
Prosecutors said that in late December 2020, Copeland, who is the defendant, told Rogers that he was contacting an anti-government militia group to gather support for the movement. After Rogers’ arrest in January 2021, he said Copeland communicated with the leader of a militia group who advised Copeland to delete the old messages and switch to a new communication platform.
Copeland previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and destruction of records.
The sentence was put on hold Wednesday after Copeland’s attorney asked the judge to close the courtroom to the public and press out of concern for his client’s safety.
The sentencing portion of the hearing opened after a 15-minute closed session, and an emotional Copeland read a prepared statement in which she apologized to Democratic Party workers she said had scared her, the Sacramento Bee reported. ‘
“I’m really ashamed of myself,” he said. “I’m sorry.”