A suspected right-wing extremist, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, was arrested in Napa, California.
According to the FBI, he
planned to attack the state governor, Gavin Newsom.
Ian Benjamin Rogers
, 43, has been facing federal charges since Tuesday for possession of
five homemade bombs and other explosives
, which authorities found when they searched his home and auto repair business on January 15.
It also
planned to attack the Facebook and Twitter headquarters
located in the San Francisco Bay, according to the FBI.
Authorities seized a total of
49 firearms from
her home and business, as well as two dozen boxes of ammunition with thousands of cartridges, according to the complaint document signed by FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor, a member of the The agency's domestic terrorism squad in San Francisco.
[Would you report your parents or partner if they attacked the Capitol? Many did and it is heartbreaking]
Rogers admitted to authorities that he built the pumps but said they were "for entertainment purposes only," the document said.
The man also possessed two copies of a
US Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare
and an
Army Guerrilla Warfare Manual
.
Authorities found a decal on his car commonly used by the white supremacist group "Three Percenters", which, among other beliefs, is pro-gun.
The use of this label is a reference to the idea that only 3% of the American colonists fought against the British during the revolution.
The Department of Homeland Security warns of possible acts of internal terrorism
Jan. 28, 202100: 19
According to the affidavit, Rogers threatened via text messages to
attack Democratic targets
in an attempt to ensure that Trump remained in office.
"I want to blow up a Democratic building
,
"
was one of them.
"We will see what happens and then we act," he wrote, according to the statement, adding: "I am thinking about the goal of the
sac
office
first."
According to Agent Minor, by this message she meant that her first target would be the offices of California Governor Gavin Newsom in Sacramento.
[This Proud Boys leader infiltrated and cooperated with the police after being arrested in 2013]
"Also, I think when Rogers said the 'bird' and 'face' offices would be next, he meant the Twitter ('bird') and Facebook ('face') offices, because both social media platforms had blocked Trump's accounts to prevent him from sending messages on those platforms, "added the affidavit, released by the office of David L. Anderson, the US Attorney for the Northern District of California.
Rogers' arrest came less than two weeks after the Trump-encouraged assault on the Capitol, which left five dead.
And it became known when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned
of possible acts of internal terrorism
.
DHS said Wednesday in the one-page document that "an accentuated threatening environment reigns throughout the United States."
The federal court noted that violent extremists are being "motivated by a variety of problems, including anger over the restrictions against COVID-19, the results of the 2020 elections and the use of force by the police."
The Napa County prosecutor said Rogers faces
28 felony counts
in state court for possession of the explosives and weapons, including possession of an illegal silencer and multiple unregistered weapons.
Rogers is scheduled to be arraigned on January 29.
If convicted, he faces
30 years in prison.
A Newsom spokeswoman confirmed that the governor was aware of the allegations and is cooperating with the investigation.
Sacramento authorities have increased security on Capitol Hill and at his governor's house since the attacks in Washington.
"The information in the federal criminal complaint concerning Ian Rogers is an all too real reminder of the terrifying consequences that
dangerous political rhetoric
can have
, especially in emboldening violent extremism," Sahar Robertson said in a statement released Wednesday.
With information from the Los Angeles Times.