Federal prosecutors in California said Wednesday that a man found with pipe bombs and ammunition may have been on Gov. Gavin Newsom
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Prosecutors say Ian Benjamin Rogers was charged Tuesday after he was found with five pipe bombs and other rifles after authorities searched his business on January 15. He had 49 rifles, along with thousands of ammunition, According to the criminal charge.
Rogers claims the pipe bombs are for entertainment purposes only and are not intended to be used against anyone.
But messages were found on Rogers’ phone showing possible threats to social media groups Twitter and Facebook, as well as threats against Newsom.
“We can attack Twitter or the Democrats you choose” and “We can easily attack Twitter and Democrats at the moment to burn down, they are,” Rogers told a friend. He claims that ‘business office’ would be the first target, a reference presumably to Newsom’s office in Sacramento.
A Newsom spokesman told the Los Angeles Times the governor is aware of the arrest and is working with authorities in the investigation.
Rogers is now facing charges of illegal possession of unregistered destructive devices. The charges include a 10-year prison sentence and a $ 250,000 fine.
Rogers also had a ‘Three-Percenters’ sticker on his vehicle, a pro-gun and anti-government group. A “White Privilege Card” for Rogers has also been found by authorities.
“I know that many extreme anti-government militias are populated by white supremacists,” Stephanie Minor, a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, said in the complaint.
Minor writes in the complaint that he believes Rogers is also targeting the offices of Facebook and Twitter because both social media platforms permanently suspended Trump’s accounts after the January 6 riot at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.