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Six men have been charged in federal court with conspiracy to kidnap the governor ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election for “uncontrollable power,” court documents say.
Furthermore, seven other people linked to the armed group Wolverine Watchmen have been indicted in state court for trying to invade the Michigan legislature and pursue a “civil war.”
The two groups prepared together and planned “various acts of violence,” state police said.
The kidnapping conspiracy was followed up in August and September, according to written FBI testimony. Four of the aforementioned men are said to have planned to meet Wednesday and “pay for explosives, exchange tactical equipment.”
The FBI quoted one of the suspects as saying that Mr. Whitmer “currently has uncontrollable power” and that “all good things must end.”
Violent extremists
Undercover agents and informants helped thwart the conspiracy, authorities said. The suspects were arrested Wednesday night. Six people charged in federal court could face life in prison. Seven people accused of terrorism in the state face 20 years in prison.
US Attorney Andrew Birge called the suspects “violent extremists.”
According to the prosecutor, they discussed detonating the explosive charges, also under a single viaduct, to divert the district police to Mr. Whitmer’s vacation home and purchased a stun gun for the kidnapping.
Hours later, Whitmer blamed President Donald Trump for part of the blame, noting that during last week’s debate with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, he did not condemn white supremacists and instead called on a group of extreme right to “stand back and watch”
“Hate groups have heard the president’s words not as an accusation, but as a unifying slogan, as a call to action,” Whitmer said.
The White House called his comment “strange.”
Biden also sought to attribute some of the blame to the Republican president. “The words you say are important. Why the president just isn’t saying enough. Stop, stop, stop,” he said during the campaign event.
Whitmer, 49, who was named among Vice President Biden’s candidates and is nearly in the middle of his four-year term, has been praised by many for his response to the coronavirus crisis. However, it was heavily criticized by Republican lawmakers and residents of conservative areas of the state. There were many demonstrations near the state legislature, including those involving armed protesters, calling for their removal.
Mr. Whitmer has imposed severe restrictions on the movement of people and the economy, although many have already been lifted. The governor exchanged scathing remarks on social media with D. Trump, who in April urged, “DRAW MICHIGAN!”
There is no indication in the court documents that the suspects were inspired by D. Trump. Officials also did not make public whether the suspects were angry with Whitmer’s measures to combat the coronavirus.
I lived in the basement
Adam Fox, Ie Garbin, Caleb Frank, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta of Michigan and Barry Croft of Delaware are suspected of conspiring against the governor. All of them, with the exception of Croft, appeared in federal court in Grand Rapids on Thursday. They asked the court to appoint them lawyers and were returned to prison until Tuesday’s arrest hearing.
Called one of the group’s leaders, Mr. Fox lived in the basement of a Grand Rapidse store. The owner said he did not want to wear masks and that he had firearms in the store.
“He was against the police, against the government,” Brian Titus told WOOD-TV. “I was afraid that if I didn’t defend [konstitucijos] Second amendments [dėl teisės turėti ginklų] and their rights, the country will become communist and socialist. “
Officials note that the conspiracy against Whitmer likely took place during a meeting of several people from various states, including Croft and Fox, in Dublin in June June, which was attended by an informant.
“Various members have spoken of killing ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a governor,” the FBI said in a written statement.
“Civil war”
Seven defendants in state court are suspected of finding out where law enforcement officers live and making threats intended to “incite civil war,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
They also planned to attack the state legislature in Lansing and kidnap officials, including Mr. Whitmer.
Among the suspects, Pete Musico and Joseph Morrison are said to have founded Wolverine Watchmen, which officials call an “anti-government and anti-processor armed group.”
At least three of the 13 defendants were among armed protesters who entered the state Senate on April 30 after a large outdoor protest against Whitmer’s order that residents not leave their homes due to the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said. of Nessel.
Members of the Wolverine Watchmen met periodically to train in remote locations, state police officer Michael Fink said in written testimony.
Michigan became famous for its armed anti-government groups in the mid-1990s when they began organizing and training in rural areas of the state. They began to spread the message of resistance to the “conspiracy to impose a world government and confiscate weapons” on short radio waves, newsletters and the Internet.
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