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Six men were charged with conspiring to overthrow the Michigan government and kidnap its governor.
They are charged with conspiring to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home, and one of the suspects said he wanted to try her for “treason.”
According to a court file, they conspired for months, consulted and trained with members of the militia, and even rehearsed kidnapping in August and September.
Six men have been charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Governor Whitmer has thanked law enforcement for detaining and charging what she described as “sick and depraved men” who were “preparing to kidnap and possibly kill me.”
He also added that “hatred, intolerance and violence have no place in the state of Michigan.”
Ms. Whitmer also blamed President Donald Trump, noting that he did not condemn white supremacists in last week’s debate with the presidential rival Joe biden instead, he told a far-right group to “back off and stay on the sidelines.”
She said: “The hate groups heard the president’s words, not as a reprimand but as a battle cry, as a call to action.
“When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight.”
But in a statement, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said: “President Trump has continually condemned white supremacists and all forms of hate.”
“Governor Whitmer is sowing division by making these outrageous accusations. America stands together against hatred and supports our federal police who stopped this plot.”
Gretchen Whitmer has said that “hatred, bigotry and violence have no place in the state of Michigan.” Stock Image
The six “violent extremists” – Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta – were arrested Wednesday and all face life in prison if convicted.
According to the FBI, one of the suspects was quoted as saying, “He has no control or balance. He has uncontrolled power right now. All good things must come to an end.”
Governor Whitmer has been praised, but also deeply criticized, including by Trump, for the state’s response to coronavirus after he imposed significant restrictions on personal movement and the economy, although many of those limits have now been lifted.
Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court said a 1945 law used as the basis for many of its orders was unconstitutional.
However, there is no suggestion in the criminal complaint that the men were inspired by Trump.
In a video broadcast live to a Facebook group in June, Fox complained about the court system and restrictions against gym openings due to COVID-19.
According to the complaint, he said: “I don’t know guys, we have to do something. You guys link with me on our other location system, give me some ideas of what we can do.”
In a statement, Facebook said: “We remove content, deactivate accounts and immediately report to police when there is a credible threat of imminent harm to people or public safety.
“We proactively approached and cooperated with the FBI at the beginning of this ongoing investigation.”
According to the FBI, Fox said he needed 200 men to storm the Capitol building in Lansing and take hostages, including the governor.
It is stated that he would execute the plan before the presidential election on November 3, but then the group went on to target the governor’s vacation home.
Prosecutors said two of the men had discussed detonating explosive devices to divert police from Ms. Whitmer’s residence, and one of them had even searched the bottom of a bridge for places to place an explosive. .
Informants and undercover agents were used to thwart the alleged plot.
“Our efforts revealed elaborate plans to endanger the lives of law enforcement officers, government officials and the general public,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said at a news conference.
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According to FBI Special Agent Richard Trask, one of the men had posted in an encrypted chat, saying that he did not want a final training exercise to take place in the last week of October because it would not allow enough time to execute the kidnapping sooner. choice.
Trask added: “The group agreed to use the time until the final training exercise to raise money for explosives and other supplies.”
Meanwhile, the Michigan attorney general has charged seven people with conspiring to attack law enforcement and attack the State Capitol building.
The group, all in custody, are allegedly linked to the Wolverine Watchmen militia group.
They are suspected of attempting to identify the houses of law enforcement officers to “attack” them and “threatened violence in order to instigate a civil war.”
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