FBI Says Pipe Bomb Suspect May Have Targeted Newsom, Facebook, Twitter
Justice Department officials said Wednesday that a California man charged with carrying pipe bombs may have been targeting Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the offices of Twitter and Facebook.
Federal prosecutors said Ian Benjamin Rogers was charged on Tuesday after a search of his home and business uncovered five pipe bombs, 49 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and manuals for making improvised explosive devices, according to a criminal complaint (pdf).
On Jan. 15, officers and agents from multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Napa County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI executed a state search warrant at Rogers’s home and business and business in Napa County, where besides guns and pipe bombs, they found materials that could be used to make improvised explosives, including black powder, pipes, and endcaps. They also found manuals, including The Anarchist Cookbook, U.S. Army Improvised Munitions Handbook, and Homemade C-4 A Recipe for Survival, the affidavit said.