'After the 20th we go to war'; Bay Area men plead guilty to firebomb plot at state Democratic HQ

SAN FRANCISCO – Two Bay Area men face more than 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to planning to firebomb the Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento.

U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds said 46-year-old Ian Benjamin Rogers of Napa and 38-year-old Jarrod Copeland of Vallejo both face maximum statutory sentences of 20 years imprisonment.

In addition, Rogers faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for a weapons charge and Copeland faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for destruction of evidence.

Rogers pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and weapons violations including possessing an illegal machine gun on Friday. Copeland, meanwhile, had previously pleaded guilty to his charges.

According to their plea agreements, Rogers and Copeland admitted that they conspired together between November 2020 and January 2021 to destroy the John L. Burton Democratic Headquarters in Sacramento.

The pair planned to attack the building with cans of gasoline, including throwing gas cans through the front windows of the building, and igniting the gasoline to burn down the building. 

According to documents filed in the case, Rogers told Copeland that he would "hit the enemy in the mouth" by using Molotov cocktails and gasoline to attack targets associated with Democrats, including the Governor's Mansion and the Democratic Headquarters.

Court documents revealed that Rogers and Copeland discussed getting labeled as "domestic terrorists," with Rogers describing a "hope [their] actions will make others to get involved." In late December 2020, Copeland told Rogers he contacted an anti-government militia group to gather support for the movement and in January 2021, Rogers stated to Copeland "I want to blow up a democrat building bad."

Copeland agreed.

Rogers admitted in his plea agreement to viewing the state Democratic building on the internet and sending a map of the location to Copeland. The men also admitted to discussing the building's proximity to a fire department and certain law enforcement in devising their plan. Rogers and Copeland were planning to wait until after the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021, before carrying out their attack. 

As described in the indictment, Rogers wrote to Copeland, "after the 20th we go to war."

But the plans were derailed on Jan. 15, 2021, when law enforcement officers searched Rogers's Napa home and business and seized a cache of weapons, including 45 to 50 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and five pipe bombs.

Rogers admitted in his plea agreement that he had constructed the pipe bombs and anticipated using them against the property of those whose political views differed from his. He further admitted that he possessed at least three fully automatic machine guns and considered using one of them in the attack on the building.

Copeland admitted in his plea agreement that after he learned of Rogers's arrest, he notified a militia group to which he belonged and in response to instruction from them destroyed evidence to prevent law enforcement from finding the evidence. 

Rogers's sentencing was scheduled for September 30, 2022.  He remained in custody. Copeland has remained in federal custody since his arrest on July 14, 2021.