Judge orders Montevideo man held until trial for weapons possession

For "the safety of the community" U.S. District Magistrate Judge Jeanne Graham on Thursday ordered that a 24-year-old man who the FBI said was planning a terrorist attack in Montevideo should remain in jail, pending the outcome of court proceedings.

Graham said that Buford "Bucky" Rogers should also stay in custody because of a "history of failing to appear as required" in previous court cases.

Rogers has been indicted on a charge of being in possession of a firearm and other "destructive devices" including two Molotov cocktails, two "black powder nail devices" and a pipe bomb.

He has not been charged on terrorism counts, but was arrested on May 3 after a person who had been staying at his father's mobile home told federal authorities that Rogers was planning to use his "Black Snake Militia" to take out a radio tower in Montevideo, raid the National Armory and attack the Montevideo police station.

At a preliminary hearing in May, Rogers did not contest his detention, pending additional arguments.

Graham wrote on Thursday that she had now "concluded by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community if the defendant is released pending trial."

She said a pretrial services report recommended detention because he represented a safety risk and a risk of not showing up.

In 2009, Rogers failed to appear for a court date and in 2011, he had to be extradited from Arizona to face the burglary charge for which he is now on probation, Graham wrote.

She also noted that part of the current charges against him involve "the possession and discharge of a semi-automatic rifle recovered from the home of his father during the execution of a federal search warrant."

Randy Furst • 612-673-4224