U.S. accuses two men of plotting to blow up the California Democratic headquarters Reuters

Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters)-The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday that two California men have been charged with conspiring to attack the Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento.

According to the undisclosed indictment, 45-year-old Napa native Ian Benjamin Rogers (NYSE:) and 37-year-old Vallejo native Jarrod Copland began conspiring attacks after the 2020 presidential election The Democratic Party is aiming and trying to gain the support of an anti-government organization for further reasons.

The Justice Department did not determine which group the two men allegedly sought support from.

The Ministry of Justice said that in the large amount of information they exchanged, the two discussed the issue of bombing buildings.

For example, in an exchange in January 2021, Rogers told Copland: “I want to blow up a broken Democratic Party building.”

“I agree,” Copland replied. “Plan an attack.”

Federal law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Rogers’ home on January 15 and seized a batch of weapons, including 45 to 50 guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and five tube bombs.

The prosecutor said that Copland tried to destroy evidence during the investigation and communicated with the leader of the militia, who asked him to switch the communication platform and delete the evidence.

Rogers was arrested on the day of the execution of the search warrant, and is still detained by the state government. The US Department of Justice stated that Copeland was arrested on Thursday and will attend the detention hearing on July 20.