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Rep. John Rogers agrees to plea deal, will resign from Alabama House • Alabama Reflector

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Rep. John Rogers agrees to plea deal, will resign from Alabama House • Alabama Reflector


Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham has reached a plea deal over allegations that he diverted public money for a youth baseball league to an associate, the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the Northern District of Alabama said on Monday. 

The office said Rogers, 83, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The plea deal was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

As part of the agreement, Rogers has agreed to step down from his position in the Alabama House of Representatives, where he has served since 1982. The plea agreement says Rogers will serve 14 months in home confinement and pay over $197,000 in restitution.

John Robbins, Rogers’ attorney, said Monday he could not comment yet as they had just reached the deal.

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The agreement follows similar pleas from Rogers’ former associate Varrie Johnson Kindall and former Rep. Fred L. Plump, D-Fairfield, who previously admitted to their roles in defrauding the Jefferson County Community Service Fund.

Rogers, currently the longest-serving Representative in the Alabama House, was allotted approximately $500,000 from the fund between fiscal years 2018 and 2022. Prosecutors allege that Rogers directed a significant portion of these funds to the Piper Davis Youth Baseball League, headed by Plump, who then funneled kickbacks totaling approximately $200,000 to Rogers and Kindall.

The indictment further accuses Rogers, Kindall and Plump of submitting false information to the committee regarding the intended use of fund money for Piper Davis. Rogers and Kindall are alleged to have obstructed justice by attempting to influence a witness and providing false information to investigators.

The maximum penalties for these charges include up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Rep. John Rogers indicted on two counts of obstruction of justice

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Rogers agreed to plead guilty one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count for conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Rogers could face up to a total of 25 years imprisonment or a fine of up to $500,000, or both. He could also face supervised release for up to three years.

He’ll also have to pay Jefferson County Community Service Fund $197,950.45 in restitution. In exchange, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to dismiss the remaining counts in the second superseding indictment, which included a count of obstruction of justice by bribery and one for failure to file tax return.

The state representative was jailed in October over allegations that he had made a phone call to a witness in the case. Rogers, who said the call was an inadvertent mistake, was released after a judge imposed new conditions on him.

Rogers is the third state representative to plead guilty to a criminal charge and resign from the Alabama House in the last 10 months. Plump resigned in May. Former Rep. David Cole, R-Madison, resigned at the end of August and pleaded guilty to a charge of knowingly voting at a polling place where he was not authorized to vote.

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This is a breaking news story and will be updated.



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Alabama

Selma explosive wide receiver previews decision to choose Alabama or Auburn

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Selma explosive wide receiver previews decision to choose Alabama or Auburn




It will be either Alabama or Auburn when Cedrick Simmons announces his commitment decision on Tuesday.

Simmons is a 2027 wide receiver, and he attends Selma High School in Selma, Alabama. The rising senior garners a three-star rating from most recruiting sites.

Auburn was the last program to host Simmons for an official visit. The Tigers’ coaching staff has shown Simmons they want what is best for their players.

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“I love the coaches over there,” said Simmons. “They want the best for everybody over there. They are great at making their players the best they can be. I got two teammates up at Auburn right now, so they actually put me on with the wide receiver coach. At the time, it was Coach Davis, and he liked my playing style, and he offered me at a young age, and he believed in me early at a young age in the 10th grade.”

The Crimson Tide offered Simmons a few weeks ago after an impressive camp performance. He had been building a relationship with the Tide’s wide receiver coach Derrick Nix, since the spring.

“At first, me and coach Nix, we started building a relationship in the spring, and he told me he always liked my film,” Simmons said. “So, when I went to train there in person, and they saw my abilities, they went ahead and offered me. That was amazing. It felt so well-deserved and earned. I put the hard work in for it.”

Simmons told Touchdown Alabama the Tide was his leader after he officially visited Alabama earlier this month.

“What really stood out to me was learning about the standard they live by and why they’re always a top team in college football,” Simmons told Touchdown Alabama.

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The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder is a physical and explosive wide receiver, and he is built like a linebacker. He is coming off a season where he had more than 2,000 receiving yards.







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Unsettled Through Friday – Alabama Emergency Management Agency (EMA)

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Unsettled Through Friday – Alabama Emergency Management Agency (EMA)


By Jim Stefkovich, Meteorologist, Alabama Emergency Management Agency

CLANTON – Sunday, 8:30 am, June 21, 2026

 

Today, scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are forecast mainly across the southern half of the state. Rainfall will generally be around 1 inch, but some spots could receive 2-4 inches, resulting in localized flooding.  Damaging wind gusts are not expected.

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Little to no rainfall will occur tonight through Monday morning.  During the afternoon (and for the remainder of the week), we will be in a northwest flow aloft, with periodic clusters of storms (Mesoscale Convective Systems) moving from northwest to southeast across the state each day.

The timing for Monday’s activity is shown below.  A few damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph, and heavy rainfall that may produce localized flooding are the threats.

There will be breaks in the precipitation each day, allowing any flooding to subside.  However, due to saturated soils this week, it won’t take as much rainfall to produce additional flooding.  Finally, the timing for each cluster of storms after Monday is highly uncertain, both in timing and specific locations.

 

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FOX54 News Huntsville

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FOX54 News Huntsville
FOX54 News – Huntsville – The FOX54 News Team brings you local and national news, weather, sports, and VERIFY fact-checking on the latest trending topics, from elections to COVID-19 to online scams. Watch the FOX54 News Team Monday-Friday at 5:30 p.m. and every night at 9:00 p.m.

We reserve the right to moderate or remove comments that are hateful, contain inappropriate language, or violate YouTube community guidelines. Keep it civil, folks.



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