Trump began attacking Governor Whitmer in March.The FBI says it thwarted what it described as a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The alleged plot involved reaching out to members of a Michigan militia, according to a federal affidavit filed Thursday.
The court filing also alleges the conspirators twice conducted surveillance at Whitmer's personal vacation home and discussed kidnapping her to a "secure location" in Wisconsin to stand "trial" for treason prior to the Nov. 3 election.
"Several members talked about murdering 'tyrants' or 'taking' a sitting governor," an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. "The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message."
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The conspiracy described by the FBI specifically involved at least six people:The affidavit filed in federal court details probable cause to charge the six men with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer. Those identified by name include: Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta.
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The investigation dates to early 2020 when the FBI learned through social media that individuals were discussing the violent overthrow of several state governments and law enforcement.
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The militia group is not identified in the court filing, but members periodically meet in remote areas of the state for firearms training and tactical drills.
The FBI was already tracking the militia in March after a local police department learned members were trying to obtain addresses of local law-enforcement officers, the FBI agent wrote.
“At the time, the FBI interviewed a member of the militia group who was concerned about the group’s plans to target and kill police officers, and that person agreed to become a (confidential source),” the agent wrote.
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In late June, Fox posted on Facebook a video in which he complained about the state’s judicial system and COVID-19 restrictions on gyms operating in Michigan.
“Fox referred to Governor Whitmer as ‘this tyrant b----,’ and stated, ‘I don’t know, boys, we gotta do something,” according to the court affidavit. “You guys link with me on our other location system, give me some ideas of what we can do.”
Detroit News
[March 26] President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks Friday night on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after she said equipment that Michigan and other states need to fight the coronavirus epidemic is being diverted to the federal government.
"I love Michigan, one of the reasons we are doing such a GREAT job for them during this horrible Pandemic," Trump posted on Twitter. "Yet your Governor, Gretchen “Half” Whitmer is way in over her ahead, she doesn’t have a clue. Likes blaming everyone for her own ineptitude!"
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Trump disparaged her during a Thursday interview on Fox News in response to her criticism of the federal government's lack of preparedness and sluggish response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"She is a new governor, and it's not been pleasant," Trump told Sean Hannity.
"We've had a big problem with the young — a woman governor. You know who I'm talking about — from Michigan."
Detroit News
Back to the plot to kidnap and/or kill Governor Whitmer...[May 28] The latest curveball Trump has thrown her way is a tweet he shot off last week about Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson. Trump incorrectly said Benson, who he referred to as a “rogue Secretary of State,” had sent out mail ballots to voters, when in reality she had sent out applications for absentee ballots. (Some of Benson’s Republican counterparts in other states have taken similar action.) Alarmingly, Trump threatened to withhold funding from Michigan over the matter on May 20, inaccurately claiming it would increase voter fraud.
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Whitmer said the President’s threat came as she was visiting Midland, where flooding caused by two failed dams resulted in a massive evacuation in the midst of the pandemic.
Time
Fox and two other individuals located Whitmer's home and shot video and took photos of it as they drove by on Aug. 29. One of the individuals then calculated how long it would take local and state police to respond to an incident at the property.
"We ain't going to let 'em burn our f---in' state down. I don't give a f--- if there's only 20 or 30 of us, dude, we'll go out there and use deadly force," said Fox during the surveillance operation, according to an audio recording quoted in the affidavit.
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"Kidnapping, arson, death, I don't care," Franks said, according to the affidavit.
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In an encrypted group chat, Garbin later suggested that demolishing a nearby bridge would hamper a response by police to the governor's home, according to the court filing.
The September surveillance followed a field exercise in at Garbin's property in Luther, Michigan, where the conspirators allegedly detonated an improvised explosive device made from a commercial firework wrapped in shrapnel "to test its anti-personnel effectiveness."
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The group later made plans to conduct a final training exercise in late October but then decided that was too close to the November election, so they moved forward with raising money to procure explosives and other supplies including an 800,000-volt taser.
Detroit News
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