Trump supporter in firebomb plot gets prison term
One of two Trump supporters behind a plot to firebomb Sacramento's state Democratic Party headquarters was sentenced to prison Wednesday, but sentencing for the second was delayed after his attorney asked for the courtroom to be closed over concerns for his client's safety.
Ian Benjamin Rogers, 46, received a nine-year sentence after expressing his remorse for his behavior, which he blamed on a drinking problem that was exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns that severely hurt his auto repair business.
“I said a lot of stupid and silly things,” Rogers told Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer as Rogers' family sat in the first row of the courtroom watching. “I never seriously meant them in any way . ...
“I just want everybody to know how sorry I am.”
Rogers and his co-defendant, Jarrod Copeland, 39, were facing sentencing for their role in a bizarre conspiracy to retaliate against President Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Copeland, a tool salesman, Army deserter and steroid user who was arrested at his Sacramento apartment in 2021, and Rogers, a Napa auto mechanic who specialized in Jaguar and Land Rover repairs, were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021 on charges of conspiracy to destroy a building, possession of destructive devices and machine guns and obstruction of justice.
The two men were accused of planning an attack on the John L. Burton Democratic Party headquarters in downtown Sacramento as revenge for what they falsely believed was a stolen election.
Court documents say law enforcement seized bombs and dozens of firearms including machine guns and that the men hoped the attack would ignite what they called a “movement” they hoped would spur others to action.
But Rogers insisted Wednesday he never meant to carry out any of the actions, and said he regretted possessing three illegal firearms and pipe bombs that were among a cache of weapons at his home.