Federal agents say they have thwarted a plot by a far-right militia group to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and violently overthrow state governments.
The FBI announced on Thursday that it had arrested six men in connection with the alleged conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer. The suspects were allegedly plotting to grab her from her vacation home in northern Michigan before the U.S. presidential election.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says seven men are also facing terror charges in connection with the plot. The suspects are linked to a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, she said.
The group had planned to meet Wednesday to “make a payment on explosives and exchange tactical gear,” the FBI said in an affidavit filed in federal court.
Ty Garbin, Adam Fox, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, all of Michigan, have been named in the affidavit. Barry Croft of Delaware was also identified. The suspects’ ages and photos were not immediately available.
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The FBI first caught onto the alleged plot through social media posts in early 2020, according to the affidavit. They used confidential sources and undercover agents to follow along as the militia group allegedly plotted to overthrow several state governments that they believe are “violating the U.S. Constitution.”
Fox and Croft allegedly met with 13 others in Dublin, Ohio, on June 6 to hatch the plan, according to the affidavit. They discussed creating a self-sufficient society based on the U.S. Bill of Rights, and talked about “murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” the FBI said. They ultimately decided to boost their numbers by recruiting neighbours and reaching out to militia groups, including one based in Michigan.
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The group had also discussed storming the Michigan Capitol and using Molotov cocktails against police, according to the affidavit. They eventually dismissed that idea and focused their attention on kidnapping Whitmer, according to the FBI.
Whitmer, a Democrat, has been fiercely criticized by conservative groups since the coronavirus pandemic began. She had imposed some of the strictest lockdown measures in the United States during the early days of the pandemic, though most of those measures have since been lifted.
Armed protesters marched on the state capitol in April and May to protest the lockdowns, while others stood outside with signs comparing her to Adolf Hitler.
U.S. President Donald Trump also attacked Whitmer on Twitter during the unrest, calling her “Half” Whitmer and urging her to heed the armed protesters’ demands.
“LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” he tweeted on Apr. 17.
LIBERATE MICHIGAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Federal officials have repeatedly warned in recent months that far-right militias and white supremacist extremists pose the greatest terror threat to the U.S.
Nevertheless, President Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that Antifa, a loose ideological movement with no organization, is the real threat. Last week, for example, he refused to condemn white supremacy after he was specifically asked to do so during the first presidential debate. Instead, Trump told the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, to “stand back and stand by.”
“But I’ll tell you what: Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing problem,” he said.
White supremacist extremists are the “most persistent and lethal threat” to security in the United States, according to a Department of Homeland Security assessment released earlier this week.
A Facebook account belonging to a Brandon Caserta was swiftly removed after the charges were announced.
Global News viewed Caserta’s Facebook page before it was taken down, and it showed a long history of far-right, anti-government and misogynist views. The account included several joking memes about Kyle Rittenhouse, the militia gunman who allegedly killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wis., and a conspiracy theory post claiming that Trump was faking his COVID-19 diagnosis.
Several videos on the page showed Caserta complaining about being “robbed” by the government.
He made similar comments on a TikTok account that he promoted through his Facebook page.
“I tell you what’s like, one of the hardest challenges in life that you’ll probably never be able to get away with,” he says in a video posted Wednesday. “And that’s to not get robbed by the state.”
—With files from The Associated Press