Sacramento bomb plot suspect nearly wins release. How his wife kept him in jail

One of the men accused of plotting to blow up the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento came within minutes of winning his release from jail Tuesday, but the deal fell through after his wife changed her mind about taking responsibility for him while he awaits trial.

After a 70-minute Zoom court hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse in San Francisco had agreed to allow Jarrod Copeland to be released and return to his Sacramento apartment, with the understanding that his wife, Sheila, would act as custodian and report any violations of his release terms to the court.

Tse laid out the requirements — that Copeland remain detained at home, not have access to weapons, not use steroids and only have access to one electronic device — and was going to order Copeland’s release over the objections of a federal prosecutor and lawyer for the state Democratic Party who argued he is a danger to the community.

But the deal blew up at the last minute as Tse questioned Sheila Copeland about whether she understood failure to report any violations could land her in jail.

“Yeah, that’s a big responsibility,” she said.

“It is a big responsibility,” Tse replied, and directed her and Copeland’s attorney, John Ambrosio, to talk about the matter offline during the video Zoom hearing.

A few minutes later, the two reappeared on screen and Ambrosio told the judge that Sheila Copeland had changed her mind.

“She’s a little bit nervous at this point,” Ambrosio told the judge while Jarrod Copeland watched by video from the Santa Rita Jail. “She is wanting to represent to the court that she’s not comfortable with the responsibility.”

Instead, Ambrosio said, she wanted the court to find another suitable custodian to keep tabs on Copeland, meaning he will remain in custody until someone willing and able is found.

The sudden reversal came after Sheila Copeland had told the judge that her husband’s alleged conversations with co-defendant Ian Benjamin Rogers about blowing up the Democratic Party building to protest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was just talk.

“Just from a woman’s perspective, it’s two macho guys talking it out,” she said. “Two guys just acting, like, macho.”

She and Ambrosio told the judge that Copeland has no criminal history — other than two arrests for deserting the Army — and that he has no record of violence.

Ambrosio likened the conversations between the two suspects as “two males potentially fantasizing.”

“Sounds like they maybe lost a football game and were letting off some steam albeit very dangerous steam,” he said.

“This isn’t a football game,” the judge replied.

The federal government has taken a decidedly different view of the two men’s conversations and messaging, saying they are domestic terrorism suspects.

“The allegations in this case are very serious,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Riebli told the judge. “This is unlike the usual drug case…

“A domestic terrorism offense is unlike most other offenses, because the defendants are politically motivated. There’s something behind the impetus for the offense that makes them more dangerous.”

Riebli agreed that Copeland has no history of violence, and that Rogers “is the driver in this case.” But he noted that there is no way to ensure the public’s safety if Copeland did not obey the conditions of the release the judge was considering.

“Domestic terrorists, especially of this sort, frequently haven’t popped up on law enforcement radar before,” Riebli said. “That’s why these guys are so dangerous. They pop up out of nowhere.”

Alex Porter, a lawyer for the Democratic Party, agreed, telling the judge that the alleged plot to blow up the building at 1830 Ninth St. in downtown Sacramento has had a “chilling effect” on the 20 employees, interns and volunteers who frequent the headquarters.

“They’ve been trying to deal with how to respond with learning there was someone out there targeting their workplace where they spend a lot of time,” Porter said. “It’s incredibly distressing to them, to their families...

“The concern is that he is motivated by political ideology and if he’s released these employees who have been targeted are still at risk.”

Copeland, 37, a tool salesman and steroid user who recently moved to Sacramento from Vallejo, and Rogers, 45, a Napa mechanic, are accused of plotting the attack as part of a plan to spark a “movement” to stir up resistance over the outcome of the presidential election.

Both men are supporters of former President Donald Trump and allegedly contacted militia members to discuss various plans of action.

“I want to blow up a democrat building bad,” Rogers wrote in a Jan. 11 text, according to court filings. “The democrats need to pay.”

“I agree,” Copeland responded, according to court documents. “Plan attack.”

Authorities raided Rogers’ home and business on Jan. 15 and seized 50 firearms, including at least three fully automatic weapons, five pipe bombs and thousands of rounds of ammunition, court papers say.

Rogers has been in custody in the Napa County Jail since then, but Copeland was allowed out on bail and made no effort to flee since then, Ambrosio said.

The pair were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 7, and Copeland was arrested at his Arden Arcade-area apartment last Wednesday.

Despite the nature of the case, the judge was willing to allow Copeland’s release as long as he agreed to a number of conditions and his wife of seven or eight years promised to report any violations to authorities.

Sheila Copeland told Tse that her husband is “the breadwinner” for the family, that she has been unable to work in retail because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The allegations are very harsh and I understand the degree of the allegations and the weight,” she said in a video linkup with a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge serving as background. “And, believe me, we are taking this very seriously.”

Sheila Copeland said she had known her husband for 13 years and “I do believe in my heart that Jarrod is not a danger.”

The judge noted that he considers the charges Copeland faces “very serious,” and that he was amenable to releasing him to his home only under “full lockdown detention” that included an order that Copeland could not use the one phone he is allowed unless his wife monitored him.

“The minute that I receive information that it’s not going well I will remand Mr. Copeland into custody,” he added before asking Copeland if he agreed to the release conditions.

“I promise, your honor,” Copeland replied from the jail video hookup.

The judge said he would stay his release order if the government indicated it planned to appeal, but that issue never arose because Sheila Copeland began to waver as Tse explained that she could be jailed if she did not make certain her husband followed the restrictions.

“Yeah, that’s tough,” she said, and the judge had her speak privately to her lawyer before deciding Copeland must remain jailed for now.

“I know this is very tough,” the judge told her after she decided she could not serve as Copeland’s custodian. “I very much appreciate not only your candor to me today, but also the importance of the decision clearly resonates with you. And that’s important.”

Tse ordered another court hearing for Copeland on Aug. 18. Rogers is due in court next July 30.

This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 1:24 PM.