Feds charge six militia members in domestic terror plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Whitmer #GretchenWhitmer
LANSING, Mich. – A team of militia operatives is charged with conspiring to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a plot in which they considered storming the state Capitol in a commando raid that would use Molotov cocktails to keep police cars at bay, according to newly unsealed court records.
Members of the group bought weapons, conducted surveillance and held training and planning meetings, but they were foiled in part because the FBI infiltrated the group with informants, according to a criminal complaint. Six were charged with federal kidnapping offenses and at least seven others face state charges.
The FBI became aware early in 2020, through social media, that a militia group was “discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law enforcement components” and “agreed to take violent action,” according to a sworn affidavit.
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Organizers of the domestic terror plot talked about “murdering … tyrants” or “taking” a sitting governor, according to the affidavit. The FBI monitored a meeting June 20 in Grand Rapids, the affidavit says.
Discussions included using 200 men to “storm” the Capitol Building in Lansing, kidnap hostages including Whitmer and try the governor for treason, according to the affidavit.
The group met for field exercises and training this year and conducted surveillance of the governor’s vacation home on at least two occasions in late August and September, the affidavit alleges. They purchased an 800,000-volt Taser and night goggles for use in the kidnapping plot, according to court records. Members of the plot said they wanted to complete the kidnapping before the election Nov. 3, according to the affidavit.
“All of us can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never, ever result in violence,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider in the Eastern District of Michigan. “The allegations in this complaint are deeply disturbing. We owe our thanks to the men and women of law enforcement who uncovered this plot and have worked so hard to protect Gov. Whitmer.”
Charged in the U.S. District Court in the western district of Michigan are Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, according to a criminal complaint. They are charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, according to the complaint.
All are residents of Michigan except Croft of Delaware, the complaint says.
Col. Joseph Gasper, director of the Michigan State Police, which worked with federal agents on the investigation, called the case “unprecedented” and “one of the largest cases in recent history that the Michigan State Police has been involved in.”
The Michigan militia group was called the Wolverine Watchmen, Nessel said at a Thursday news conference.
More than a dozen people from several states met in Dublin, Ohio, on June 6 and talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights, in which they could be self-sufficient. After that meeting, a militia group in Michigan was contacted.
The FBI used confidential informants as part of the investigation and has paid one of them more than $14,000 and paid $8,600 to another, according to the affidavit.
On July 18, at a meeting in Ohio that was secretly recorded, Garbin allegedly suggested shooting up the governor’s vacation home instead of trying to go to the Capitol in Lansing.
Fox said the best opportunity to abduct Whitmer would be at her personal vacation home or the governor’s official summer residence on Mackinac Island, according to the affidavit.
Fox allegedly described the plans as “Snatch and grab, man.”
Once kidnapped, Whitmer would be moved to a “secure location” in Wisconsin for “trial,” according to the affidavit.
Fox suggested they get a real estate agent to help them find the exact location of the vacation home and collect information on the surrounding homes and structures, according to the affidavit.
He discussed the importance of knowing the layout of the yard, homes and security, said they needed to map out the surrounding property and gates and needed plumbers and electricians to help them read blueprints to refine their strategy, according to the affidavit. Fox suggested recruiting an engineer or information technology expert, a “demo guy” and other “operators,” the affidavit alleges.
A meeting June 20 in the basement of Fox’s business in Grand Rapids was accessed “through a trap door hidden under a rug on the main floor,” according to the affidavit. Fox collected all of the attendees’ cellphones in a box and carried them upstairs to prevent any monitoring, according to the affidavit, but an FBI informant was wearing a hidden recording device. At that meeting, participants discussed plans to attack the Capitol, using “Molotov cocktails” to destroy police, the affidavit alleges.
Plans also included planting a bomb under a nearby bridge to divert law enforcement, according to the affidavit.
Also facing state charges announced Friday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, are: Pete Musico, 42, and Joseph Morrison, 42, who live together in Munith and are each charged with a threat of terrorism, gang membership, providing material support for terrorist acts, and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony; Paul Bellar, 21, of Milford, charged with providing material support for terrorist acts, gang membership, and possessing a firearm in commission of a felony; and Shawn Fix, 38, of Belleville, Eric Molitor, 36, of Cadillac; Michael Null, 38, of Plainwell; and William Null, 38, of Shelbyville, each charged with charged with providing material support for terrorist attacks and possessing a firearm in commission of felony.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, has clashed repeatedly with Whitmer over her response to the coronavirus pandemic and her use of emergency powers. But he expressed outrage Thursday at the apparent plot.
“A threat against our governor is a threat against us all,” Shirkey said. “We condemn those who plotted against her and our government. They are not patriots. There is no honor in their actions. They are criminals and traitors, and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
News of the plot Thursday quickly intensified an ongoing debate over whether open carry of rifles and other weapons should continue to be permitted at the Capitol.
“You know who those potential hostages would have been?” State Rep. Darrin Camilerri, D. Brownstown Township, said on Twitter. “State legislators. My colleagues. My friends. Me.”
He said there was “a reason we were scared to go to work during those violent gatherings,” and asked whether GOP leaders, who have opposed a gun ban inside the Capitol, will “take the steps needed to keep the Capitol safe.
Protesters took to the capitol in April in response to emergency orders from Whitmer. Some brought long guns, at times standing in the Senate gallery above lawmakers. While some lawmakers called for guns to be banned from the Capitol, the State Capitol Commission refused to issue such a mandate despite months of debate.
Follow reporter Paul Egan on Twitter @paulegan4
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ‘Deeply disturbing’: Feds charge six militia members in domestic terror plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer