Thirteen men have been charged in federal and state courts related to a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, which was foiled by months of work by the FBI. Six were charged in federal court with conspiracy to kidnap and the other seven were indicted in state court on terrorism charges for attempting to start a civil war and “targeting police.”
At least the six charged with conspiracy could face life in prison if convicted.
According to an FBI affidavit, the men charged in state court consulted and trained with members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, which has been accused of maintaining close relationships with far-right paramilitary organizations. They allegedly spent the summer plotting to spark a new civil war in the U.S., in part through kidnapping government officials.
“The group talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient,” the affidavit said. “They discussed different ways of achieving this goal from peaceful endeavors to violent actions. … Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor.”
In an FBI interview with one of the six accused of conspiracy to kidnap, they said that Whitmer “has no checks and balances at all. She has uncontrolled power right now. All good things must come to an end.” They were reportedly attempting to recruit at least 200 more members in order to “storm the capital” and wanted to try Whitmer for treason.
Whitmer has thanked the FBI for stopping the plot and issued a statement warning future plotters that they would meet the same fate.
“If you break the law or conspire to commit heinous acts of violence against anyone, we will find you,” she said. “We will hold you accountable, and we will bring you to justice.”
The governor and others have also pointed to Donald Trump’s repeated encouragement of far-right and white supremacist groups, including telling the notoriously violent Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” instead of condemning white supremacists when given the opportunity.
People are also remembering when he tweeted “liberate Michigan” months ago, which seemed to be in response to states shutting down their economies to slow the spread of the coronavirus and save lives. Experts on militias and other extremist groups have said that this would likely be taken as permission and encouragement to do something like plotting to kidnap the governor.
“Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action,” said Whitmer at a press conference. “When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight. When our leaders meet with, encourage, or fraternize with domestic terrorists, they legitimatize their actions and they are complicit.”
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe characterized the kidnapping plot as “very serious” in an interview with CNN, noting that the men conducted practice sessions including setting off an explosive that might have been used.
“This is not a group of, you know, poor hapless nobodies that couldn’t pull off a violent act on their own,” he said. “This is clearly a group of people that were very focused on accomplishing this violent objective. So it’s got really all of the earmarks of a very serious plot and I think we’re lucky that the FBI was in the place they were to do the work they did today.”
Some Democrats are now calling on Donald Trump to condemn the 13 men, but as of Thursday evening, he has not tweeted about it. However, the White House put out a statement falsely claiming that Trump has condemned white supremacists all along and accusing Whitmer of “sowing division.”
“President Trump has continually condemned white supremacists and all forms of hate,” wrote White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “Governor Whitmer is sowing division by making these outlandish allegations. America stands united against hate and in support of our federal law enforcement who stopped this plot.”
