mlive Michigan militia members are accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and potentially kill other state officials in an effort to overturn the government, according to a criminal affidavit filed in federal court by the FBI.
“In early 2020, the FBI became aware through social media that a group of individuals were discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components,” says the Oct. 6 filing in the U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan.
According to the court record, 15 militia members from “several states,” including two from Michigan, met in Dublin, Ohio on June 6 to discuss taking “violent action against multiple state governments that they believe are violating the U.S. Constitution.
” … Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor. The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.”
Five Michigan men and another man from Delaware were were eventually federally charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. State Attorney General Dana Nessel additionally announced charges against seven suspected of violating state law.
Following the Ohio meeting, one of the Michigan suspects contacted leaders of a Michigan-based militia for assistance with the plan, the court filing said.
The FBI already had an undercover informant from within the militia that was developed after law enforcement learned of the group’s earlier plans to “target and kill police officers.”
An informant reported to the FBI that during the June 6 meeting in Ohio one of the men now charged in the case said he needed 200 men “to storm the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, and take hostages, including the Governor,” the FBI affidavit said. The suspect “explained they would try the governor of Michigan for ‘treason,’ and he said they would execute the plan before the November 2020 elections.”
Following that meeting and the connection with the unnamed Michigan militia, planning sessions were held at a shop in Grand Rapids during June, the FBI said. Attendees access the meeting space “through a trap door hidden under a rug on the main floor,” according the FBI affidavit said.
Discussions included plans to use “Molotov cocktails” in an effort to destroy police vehicles during an attack on the Capitol in Lansing and the scheduling of an armed training session in July.
At a June 28 meeting in which audio was recorded, the FBI affidavit says one of the men charged described kidnapping Whitmer from her vacation home. He called it a “snatch and grab.”
“Grab the f***in’ Governor,” the FBI affidavit claims the man said. “Just grab the b**h. Because at that point, we do that, dude — it’s over.”
The investigation continued to gather information about a conspiracy to enact violence against Whitmer, generally through phone calls recorded by an informant. The FBI affidavit said the suspects conducted surveillance on the governor and properties she owns throughout September.
Between Sept. 14 and the Nov. 3 election, the suspects talked about training and raising money for explosives and other supplies, including $4,000 for an 800,000-volt Taser, in preparation for the attack, the court filing said.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Birge said the investigation is ongoing and Attorney General Dana Nessel filed additional state charges against seven people, whom she said are part of a militia group known as the Wolverine Watchmen.
Armed militia members have participated in prior protests across the state criticizing Whitmer’s stay-home orders put in place to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“When armed militia members were out of control screaming at the threshold of the chambers of the Michigan House, GOP members embraced them,” State Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, said in a comment she made on Twitter. “This is utterly terrifying.”
State Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, also comment on Twitter, stating, “there is no place for violence in American politics.”
“Americans act through the ballot box, terrorists use violence,” he said. “Prayers for the continued safety of Michigan’s first family.
It wasn’t clear from the office’s announcement whether this is the investigation that will be discussed.
The one group you can be sure didn’t do this was the Militia. This is a put up job by her and her ilk to elicit pity. Do not believe this crap story.