BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – On Tuesday, Alabama House Rep. John Rogers’ bond order was changed and a date was set for his new trial.
Earlier this year, former District 55 Rep. Fred Plump was indicted for conspiring to direct money from the community fund into his Piper Davis Youth Baseball League between March 2019 and April 2023, along with his assistant Varrie Johnson Kindall. Plump later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges and resigned from office.
“Between fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2022, Representative Rogers was allocated approximately $500,000 by the Fund,” U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona said in a statement. “Rogers directed approximately $400,000 of those discretionary funds to Piper Davis. In turn, Plump gave approximately $200,000 to Kindall.”
Rogers, 82, has served in the Alabama House of Representatives since 1982.
Rogers was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, while Kindall was charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and tax charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Rogers was taken into custody on Oct. 30 after federal prosecutors claimed Rogers violated the conditions of his bond by attempting to contact an unnamed witness via FaceTime. The prosecutors moved to have Rogers’ bond revoked.
According to court documents, this motion was denied on Tuesday, and Rogers’ bond was modified to fit the following conditions:
- Rogers must reside at his home located in West End, which address appears on his original bond (see Doc. 26) and was the subject of a home visit by his supervising officer
- He must have no contact of any kind with his co-defendant, Varrie Johnson Kindall
- He must not discuss this case with anyone other than his defense counsel and any professional members of the defense team
- Rogers cannot travel outside Alabama
- Rogers must use only an internet accessible telephone device approved by the U.S. Probation Office and must submit to the installation of monitoring software on that device. (Rogers) must not have contact information for anyone associated with his case, excluding his defense team, saved to his cellular telephone and must allow his supervising officer to inspect his cellular device at any time.
Court documents state all other conditions of release previously set by the court remain in effect.
According to court documents, Rogers’ case is scheduled for trial before a jury on March 18, 2024, at 9 a.m. in at the Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse in Birmingham.
