Firefighter Sentenced As Terrorist He Gave Militia Blueprints Of Complex Housing Fbi
A former Clarksburg firefighter who provided copies of FBI center blueprints to the Mountaineer Militia was sentenced to Monday to a year and a day in prison.
James “Rich” Rogers renounced his anti-government beliefs before he became the first person to be sentenced under a 1994 anti-terrorism statute.
U.S. District Judge Frederick Stamp Jr. rejected a defense recommendation of probation and a prosecutor’s recommendation that Rogers serve the maximum 10 years.
Stamp allowed Rogers to report at a later date to Federal Correctional Institution at Morgantown.
Rogers told the judge he got swept up in anti-government conspiracy theories and that he was sorry he became involved in the militia.
“Many of the things I said and did were foolish and stupid,” he said. “I realize how foolish it is. Most of it is based on half-truths and misinformation. I’m sorry I had anything to do with it.”
Rogers, 41, was convicted in August of going into the fire hall’s basement and taking 34 photographs of blueprints of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division in Clarksburg.
When assembled like a puzzle, the photos provided an overview of the FBI complex, including underground utilities, a computer center, building structures and other details.
Those photographs were given to Mountaineer Militia commanding general Floyd Looker, who attempted to sell them for $50,000 to what he believed was the middle man for a terrorist group. The buyer was an undercover agent.
The FBI launched an investigation of the militia two months after the Oklahoma City bombing when an FBI informant overheard militia members discussing federal targets at a training session.
Defense lawyer Gary Zimmerman said he will appeal the sentence on the vagueness of the antiterrorism statute.
Rogers was the first to be convicted by a jury under the law in August after Looker pleaded guilty. Looker, 57, faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison under a plea bargain.