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The US federal police could have prevented the kidnapping of the Democratic governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. A total of thirteen people were arrested. They face life sentences.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer admitted on September 10.
tsf./(Agenturen) Investigators have apparently thwarted a planned plot against local government in the US state of Michigan. According to the FBI, alleged extremists planned to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Authorities arrested thirteen people.
The democratic governor had imposed very strict exit restrictions in the Corona crisis. The measures helped curb the spread of the virus. But due to restrictions on social and economic life, they also led to harsh criticism, for example, from President Trump. For several weeks straight, protesters marched in front of the Capitol and accused Whitmer of “tyranny.”
Trump expressed his support for the partially armed protesters and showed understanding that they wanted their lives back. “They are very good people, but they are angry,” Trump said. He called on Twitter to “liberate” Michigan and the equally democratically ruled states of Minnesota and Virginia. Michigan is considered one of the key states in the November presidential election.
Criticism of US President Trump
At a press conference, Whitmer accused the president of the United States of creating an environment that fostered such radical criminal behavior. She directly accused Trump of fueling political extremism, citing his comments in the television debate against Joe Biden last week. Trump refused to condemn white racists there. Instead, he urged members of the Proud Boys to “back off and be ready.” Whitmer said, “When our top politicians fraternize with local terrorists, they legitimize their actions and are complicit.”
Trump Strikes Back
Trump then responded to Whitmer on Twitter Thursday night. The governor had “done a terrible job,” she wrote, describing her as ungrateful to her government. “My Justice Department and the federal police announced today that they have foiled a dangerous plot against the Governor of Michigan. Instead of thanking me, he calls me a white racist, ”Trump tweeted.
The published document does not directly indicate that the alleged extremists were inspired by Trump.
Action planned for months
According to the Federal Police FBI, at least six of the thirteen people arrested are said to have planned Whitmer’s kidnapping before the U.S. election on November 3 no later than the summer, according to court documents with descriptions from FBI investigators. In late July, one of the suspects said the best Whitmer could do was kidnap Whitmer upon arrival or departure from his private vacation home or governor’s summer residence. The group observed the vacation home in August and September. She was apparently considering detonating a bomb under a nearby bridge to prevent police from intervening during the kidnapping, investigators described.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said six people will be charged with the alleged kidnapping as part of a plot to overthrow the state government. Seven other people associated with the so-called Wolverine Watchmen militia are said to be charged with attempted attack on police forces and attempted civil war. The plans allegedly put the lives of police officers, government officials and the general public at risk.
“I knew this job was going to be tough,” Whitmer said Thursday. “But to be honest, I could never have imagined something like this.” The plans were discovered with the help of informants, undercover agents and secret recordings of conversations, prosecutor Andrew Birge said at the press conference. He described the suspects as “violent extremists.” If convicted, they face life in prison. The arrests were made Wednesday night.
Notes on social networks
At the beginning of the year, the FBI had learned on social media that a group of people – including two of the detainees – had spoken of the “violent overthrow of certain governmental and police components.” To gain support for his efforts, one of the suspects approached a militia in Michigan.
In a phone call in mid-June, one of the suspects is said to have said he would need 200 men to storm the Capitol in the capital Lansing and take hostages, including the governor, who will be tried for “treason.” The same suspect is said to have said during an observation of the governor’s vacation home in September: “She loves the power she has now.” Whitmer has “uncontrolled power.”
The suspects are said to be members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia or were close to the movement, according to Attorney General Nessel. The group includes right-wing militias. She has been using Facebook to recruit members since November 2019 and has trained with firearms to prepare for a boogaloo, a term used in the militia movement to refer to an anti-government uprising or civil war, according to research documents. The group has been under federal police observation for a long time.
