13 charged with conspiracy to attack the government of a US state and kidnap its governor

The attorney general for the state of Michigan, in the United States, has charged seven people with conspiring to attack law enforcement agencies and attack the state Capitol building.

The announcement comes after six other people were charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home, in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power,” according to a criminal complaint released on Monday. Thursday (local time) in federal court.

The state attorney general announced additional charges under Michigan’s counterterrorism law. Seven men, all in custody, are linked to the Wolverine Watchmen militia group.

It is suspected that they tried to identify the houses of law enforcement officers to “attack them, threatened violence with the intention of instigating a civil war. They also planned and trained for an operation to attack the Michigan Capitol building and kidnap government officials, including the governor, Dana Nessel said.

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The six previously accused men were found to have conspired for months, consulting and training members of the militia, and conducting trials in August and September, according to the complaint. Four of the six men planned to meet Wednesday to “make a payment for explosives and exchange tactical equipment,” the FBI said in the court file.

The FBI quoted one of the defendants as saying that Whitmer “has no check or balance. She has uncontrolled power right now. All good things must come to an end. “

The government used informants and undercover agents to thwart the alleged plot. The six men were arrested Wednesday night and each faces life in prison. US Attorney Andrew Birge called them “violent extremists.”

“All of us in Michigan may disagree on politics, but those disagreements should never, never amount to violence. Today violence has been prevented, ”Detroit federal prosecutor Matthew Schneider told reporters.

The criminal complaint said the plan involved Whitmer and his second home in northern Michigan.

Whitmer has been praised but also deeply criticized for the state’s response to the coronavirus. It placed significant restrictions on personal movement across the state and on the economy, although many of those limits have been lifted. The criminal complaint did not mention those orders.

Through electronic communications, two of the alleged conspirators “agreed to unite others in their cause and to take violent action against various state governments who believe they are violating the United States Constitution,” the FBI said.

The criminal complaint identified the six as Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta, all from Michigan and Barry Croft from Delaware.

Fox said he needed 200 men to storm the Capitol building in Lansing and take hostages, including the governor, according to the FBI.

He said he wanted to try Whitmer for “treason” and would execute the plan before the Nov. 3 election, the government said.

Later, however, the group went on to target the governor’s vacation home, the FBI said.

The government said the plan appeared to have its roots in a June meeting in Dublin, Ohio, attended by more than a dozen people from various states, including Croft and Fox.

“The group talked about creating a society that would follow the United States Bill of Rights and where they could be self-reliant,” said the FBI affidavit. “They discussed different ways to achieve this goal, from peaceful efforts to violent actions. … Several members spoke about assassinating ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ an acting governor. “