PENSACOLA, Fla. – Bobby Joe Rogers, 41,
of Pensacola, pleaded guilty today to a federal grand jury indictment charging
him with the New Year's Day arson that destroyed the American Family Planning
Clinic in Pensacola, announced the Justice Department. The two-count indictment
charged Rogers with arson and damaging a reproductive health facility.
Rogers remains in federal custody and is
scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers on Oct.
4, 2012. Rogers faces a sentence of five to 25 years in prison for the arson
count and up to one year in prison for damaging a reproductive health clinic.
"Today's guilty plea is the
culmination of a cooperative law enforcement response committed to bringing to
justice someone who used violence to target reproductive health care
workers," said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division
Thomas E. Perez. "The Justice Department will continue to vigorously
prosecute acts of violence that threaten reproductive health workers and
establishments."
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District
of Florida Pamela C. Marsh said, "I am deeply grateful for the cooperation
of our federal, state, and local partners, who worked tirelessly to very
quickly identify the perpetrator of this hate-motivated crime. The Department
of Justice has prioritized fighting violent crime and protecting civil rights,
and our office takes both of these priorities very seriously, as demonstrated
by the swift prosecution of this case."
The prosecution is the result of the investigative
work of the ATF, the Pensacola Police Department, the state of Florida Fire
Marshal's Office and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Edwin Knight and Chiraag Bains, Trial Attorney with the Department of
Justice's Civil Rights Division.
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