CBS 13: “Two Northern California men in federal court were charged with conspiring to attack the Democratic headquarters in Sacramento, the U.S. Department of Justice Northern District of California said on Thursday. Ian Benjamin Rogers, 45, of Napa, and Jarrod Copeland, 37, of Vallejo, began plotting an attack on targets they associated with Democrats after the 2020 Presidential election and attempted to gain support from an anti-government militia group, the DOJ said. Both men allegedly planned to use explosive devices in their attacks and hoped their actions would spark a movement to overthrow the government. Rogers has been in custody since his arrest on January 15. On that day, law enforcement officials searched his home and business and found a cache of weapons including 45 to 50 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and five pipe bombs, officials said. Video from earlier this year shows the Bay Area business where police say Rogers was stashing guns and explosives. Copeland was taken into custody on Wednesday.”

“They were both charged with conspiracy to destroy by fire or explosive a building used or in affecting interstate commerce. Rogers faces additional weapons violations, including one count of possession of unregistered destructive devices, and three counts of possession of machine guns. Copeland faces an additional count of destruction of records, the DOJ said, which included records of the pair’s plans to attack. Rogers and Copeland allegedly used multiple messaging apps to discuss the attacks, with one conversation last December involving Copeland telling Rogers he reached out to the anti-government militia for support in the movement, the DOJ said. In January of this year, Rogers allegedly messaged Copeland saying, ‘I want to blow up a democrat building bad.’ According to the DOJ, last November, Rogers allegedly used an encrypted messaging app to tell Copeland that he would use Molotov cocktails and gasoline to attack Democratic targets, including the Governor’s Mansion and the Democratic Headquarters Building in Sacramento.”