MICHIGAN: Thirteen men, including members of two right-wing militias, havebeen arrested for plotting to kidnap the Democratic governor of the USstate of Michigan link and spark a “civilwar,” officials said Thursday.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer thanked law enforcement for thwartingthe kidnap plot and rebuked President Donald Trump for failing to condemnhate groups.
Announcing the arrests, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessellink described the conspiracy to kidnap the49-year-old Whitmer as a “serious and credible threat.” Andrew Birge, USattorney for the western district of Michigan, said six men were facingfederal charges for conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home.
Birge said they had conducted surveillance of her residence and had eventested an improvised explosive device they intended to use to divert lawenforcement away from her home.
They were arrested by FBI agents and Michigan police on Wednesday as theymet to “pool funds for explosives and exchange tactical gear,” the JusticeDepartment said. Whitmer has been attacked repeatedly by Trump this yearover her tough coronavirus lockdown and armed right-wing groups have stagedprotests in the state capital Lansing against her stay-at-home orders.“LIBERATE MICHIGAN link!” Trump tweeted inApril.
“When I took the oath of office 22 months ago, I knew this job would behard,” said Whitmer, who was on the shortlist to become Democrat JoeBiden’s vice presidential candidate. “I’ll be honest, I never could haveimagined anything like this,” she said.
“None of us have faced a challenge like Covid,” Whitmer added. “We are notone another’s enemy. This virus is our enemy.”
As for Trump, Whitmer pointed to his refusal at the recent debate withBiden to condemn white supremacists and “hate groups” like the two Michiganmilitias that allegedly targeted her. “Stand back and stand by, he toldthem,” she said. “Hate groups heard the president’s words not as a rebukebut as a rallying cry, as a call to action,” she added. “When our leadersspeak, their words matter.
They carry weight. “When our leaders meet with, encourage, or fraternizewith domestic terrorists they legitimize their actions, they arecomplicit.” Trump’s November opponent, Biden, also sought to pin some blameon the Republican president.
“The words he utters matter,” Biden said at a campaign event. “Why won’tthe president just say ‘stop. Stop, stop, stop.’ And we will pursue you ifyou don’t.”
– ‘VIOLENT OVERTHROW’ –
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Nessel, the attorney general, said that in addition to the six men arrestedfor plotting to kidnap Whitmer, seven members of a militia group called theWolverine Watchmen were facing state charges.
They are suspected of attempting to identify the home addresses of lawenforcement officers in order to target them to “instigate a civil war,”Nessel said. They also planned to attack the capitol building in Lansingand kidnap government officials including Whitmer, she said.
The seven were charged with various offenses including providing materialsupport for terrorist acts, gang membership and firearms violations.
A sworn affadavit from an FBI agent detailed the outlines of the plot tokidnap Whitmer. The FBI said it became aware through social media in early2020 “that a group of individuals were discussing the violent overthrow ofcertain government and law-enforcement components.”
A confidential informant attended a meeting in June of around 14 people,the FBI said, where the group “talked about creating a society thatfollowed the US Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient.”“They discussed different ways of achieving this goal from peacefulendeavors to violent actions,” the affadavit said.
“At one point, several members talked about state governments they believedwere violating the US Constitution, including the government of Michiganand Governor Gretchen Whitmer,” it said. “Several members talked aboutmurdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” it said.
The six men charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer were identified asAdam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and BrandonCaserta. Croft is a resident of Delaware while the other five live inMichigan.
The affadavit said Fox was recorded in June saying he needed 200 men to“storm the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, and take hostages,including the governor.” “
Fox explained they would try the governor of Michigan for ‘treason,’ and hesaid they would execute the plan before the November 2020 elections,” theaffadavit said. – APP/AFP
