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Feds charge six in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and put her on ‘trial’

October 8, 2020 | | Print Article

Federal authorities have charged six people in connection with a plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, newly unsealed court records show.

The persons, who are allegedly part of a militia group, bought weapons, held training and planning meetings, and conducted surveillance but the plot was thwarted after the FBI managed to infiltrate the group with informants, according to a criminal complaint.

FBI officials said they became aware of the plot earlier this year via social media that a militia group had begun “discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law enforcement components,” as members “agreed to take violent action,” a sworn affidavit says, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Court records show that members of the group discussed “murdering…tyrants” or “taking” a sitting governor. The FBI monitored one such meeting that was held on June 20 in Grand Rapids.

In some discussions, members talked about deploying 200 men who would “storm” the Michigan capitol building in Lansing, take hostages including Whitmer, then try her for treason, the affidavit states.

Members of the group conducted field exercises as well as training earlier in the year while conducting surveillance of Whitmer’s vacation home in at least two instances, said the affidavit.

Group members purchased an 800,000-watt taser as well as night vision goggles to use during the kidnapping operation, the affidavit states. Members said the wanted to kidnap Whitmer ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

“All of us can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never, ever result in violence,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider in the Eastern District of Michigan. “The allegations in this complaint are deeply disturbing. We owe our thanks to the men and women of law enforcement who uncovered this plot and have worked so hard to protect Gov. Whitmer.”

The six were charged in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan. They are identified as Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta, the complaint states. All are charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Croft, who is from Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware, is the only one who was not a resident of Michigan.

The complaint says that more than a dozen people from a number of states met up in Dublin, Ohio, June 6 in which they discussed the creation of a self-sufficient society based on the Bill of Rights. Following the meeting, a militia organization in Michigan was contacted, the affidavit states.

According to the court documents, the FBI utilized confidential informants to disrupt the plot, paying one of them more than $14,000.

At another meeting in Ohio on July 18 that was secretly recorded, Garbin suggested opening fire on Whitmer’s vacation home, indicating he would prefer that over attempting to storm the capitol building.

Fox offered that the best chance to nab Whitmer would be as she arrived at, or left, either her personal vacation home or the official governor’s summer residences on Mackinac Island, the affidavit says.

Fox would describe the plans as, “Snatch and grab, man.”

After she was abducted, the group would then move Whitmer to a “secure location” in neighboring Wisconsin for her “trial.” Fox said the group should contact a realtor in order to help them find the exact location of Whitmer’s vacation home while gathering information on surrounding homes and structures, the affidavit says.

He also suggested the group recruit “an engineer or information technology expert,” a “demo guy,” and other “operators,” according to the affidavit.

After news of the arrests broke, left-wing journalists and outlets blamed President Donald Trump, recalling a tweet he sent in mid-April as residents of Michigan were growing restive and pressing Whitmer to lift her coronavirus restrictions.

“Liberate Michigan,” the president wrote in all caps.

Journalists and outlets including the Washington Post claimed Trump’s tweet incited “insurrection,” though he never called for any specific or armed actions.

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Jon Dougherty
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