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The FBI says it has foiled a plot to kidnap and overthrow the Democratic Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer.
Ms Whitmer has become a target for coronavirus skeptics after enacting strict measures that were overturned by a judge last week.
Authorities say the kidnapping plot involved six men who planned to carry out a “treason trial” for her.
“Hatred, bigotry and violence have no place” in Michigan, Ms. Whitmer said, describing the defendants as “depraved.”
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County Antrim Sheriff’s Office
Above (LR): Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, Daniel Harris and Kaleb Franks. Bottom (LR): Ty Garbin, Eric Molitor, Michael Null and William Null
What were they supposedly planning?
- Armed protesters from lockdown at Michigan state house
- What are American militia groups?
According to an FBI affidavit, an undercover law enforcement source attended a meeting in June in Dublin, Ohio, where a group of Michigan-based militiamen discussed the overthrow of state governments “who believed they were violating the US Constitution. United States”.
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“Several members spoke about assassinating ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ an acting governor,” the indictment document says. In a video, a suspect denounced the role of the state in deciding when to reopen gyms during the coronavirus shutdown.
The men met in a basement accessed through a hatch hidden under a carpet, investigators say. Their phones were gathered and placed in another room to avoid secret recordings, but the undercover FBI source carried a separate recording device.
Investigators detained thirteen people.
Six men, five from Michigan and one from Delaware, are charged in federal court with plotting the kidnapping. Apparently, they planned to hold a “treason trial” against Ms. Whitmer.
These six were named as Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Casert, and Ty Garbin. Garbin’s residence, in a trailer park, was raided by authorities Wednesday.
The other seven face charges of terrorism and gang-related crimes in state court in connection with the alleged kidnapping plot.
They are Paul Bellar, Shawn Fix, Eric Molitor, Michael Null, William Null, Pete Musico and Joseph Morrison.
The group wanted to muster about “200 men” to storm the capitol building and take hostages, including the governor. They hoped to put their plan into action before the November presidential election. If that failed, they planned to attack the governor at her home, authorities say.
The defendants “coordinated the surveillance of the governor’s vacation home,” the federal attorney for the Western District of Michigan said, adding that they also planned Molotov cocktail attacks on police officers, purchased a taser pistol and pooled their funds. to buy explosives and tactics. team.
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What do we know about the group?
The defendants conducted weapons training in various states and at times attempted to create bombs, the FBI says, adding that their training was captured on video.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that in addition to the kidnapping charges, the state will accuse seven members of the “glutton vigilante” militia with gang affiliation and providing material support to terrorists. Ms. Nessel said that the arrested militia members expected to start a civil war.
The boogaloo problem on social media
These men are reported to have ties to a militia group called Boogaloo Bois. This is a movement that has grown online.
In fact, it is quite difficult to describe the motives of the group. It is not “right wing” in the traditional sense. The members of the movement are vehemently against the forces of order; some have been arrested for killing police officers.
Generally speaking, they are extremist libertarians, think Timothy McVeigh, but with guns.
The term “Boogaloo” is usually a reference to a civil war. They have an ingrained hatred of big government; Confusingly, they are also often pro-Trump, though not exclusively. Hence his anger is often focused on the state government rather than the federal government.
Social media took a long time to act on Boogaloo. Facebook removed several Boogaloo groups in June, including the group these men were allegedly a part of. I showed TikTok a series of Boogaloo videos that were on their platform in July. Even now it’s very easy to find Boogaloo videos on social media – the hashtags they use often change, so it’s hard to keep up.
This story shows how important it is to monitor social media platforms for extremist content, before it sparks violence.
- Who are Boogaloo Bois, Antifa and Proud Boys?
“Michigan law enforcement officers are united in our commitment to eradicate terrorism in any form and we will take swift action against anyone seeking to cause violence or harm in our state,” said Colonel Joe Gasper, Director of the Michigan State Police. , in a statement announcing charges against “glutton watchers.”
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fake images
Anti-blockade protesters have referred to Ms. Whitmer as Hitler
What did the governor say?
At a news conference Thursday, the governor linked the plot against her to the rhetoric of President Donald Trump, who said he had spent the past few months “stoking mistrust, fueling anger and comforting those who spread fear, hatred and division. ” .
In April, Trump hinted at his support for the protesters by tweeting “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.” A month later, armed protesters opposed to the blockade stormed the state capitol.
The Michigan attorney general confirmed late Thursday that two men photographed at that May protest were among the arrested plot suspects.
On Thursday night, Trump, a Republican, tried to take credit for federal investigators eliminating the alleged threat to the governor.
“Instead of thanking, he calls me a white supremacist, while Biden and the Democrats refuse to condemn Antifa, the anarchists, looters and mobs that burn down Democrat-controlled cities,” he tweeted.
The state of Michigan in the Midwest could be instrumental in the outcome of next month’s US presidential election.
Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic challenger in the White House, condemned the militias as “a genuine threat” and said Trump’s “release” tweet encouraged the militias. “A president’s words matter,” he said, adding, “Why can’t the president just say stop, stop, stop, stop?”
Numerous violent incidents have been linked to citizen militia groups in the United States in recent years. The adherents, who are often white men, sometimes brandish weapons during protests. The Department of Homeland Security warned this week in an annual report that violent white supremacy was “the most persistent and deadly threat to the homeland.”
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Garbin’s motorhome was raided Wednesday
Ms. Whitmer’s shutdown orders drew thousands of protesters to the state capitol, where many compared her to the German dictator Adolf Hitler.
“None of us have faced a challenge like Covid-19,” Ms Whitmer said Thursday. “We are not enemies of each other. This virus is our enemy, and this enemy is relentless.”
Last Friday, the state Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Whitmer did not have the legal authority to issue emergency executive orders and that responsibility rested with the state legislature.
Following the ruling, the lawyer who argued the case before the higher court advised citizens to “burn the masks”, which according to health officials are necessary to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
