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Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot

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On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrests of 13 suspects who plotted to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan, and otherwise violently overthrow the state government.[1][2][3][4] The suspects were tied to a paramilitary militia group that called themselves the Wolverine Watchmen; the group was founded by two of the suspects. Six of the suspects were charged with federal crimes, while the other seven were charged with state crimes.[4]

Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan

Background

Preceding the 2020 United States elections, law enforcement officials, members of Congress, and groups tracking extremism in the country have warned about the increasing threat potential from militia and far-right groups.[5] The Anti-Defamation League identified Michigan as a state where the modern militia movement found its roots and where a number of militia groups remain active.[6][7] However, Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, said the group Wolverine Watchmen, which the suspects were members of, "flew under the radar", adding "This is simply not a big group that we'd ever heard of".[8]

Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the main target of the plot, had been a target of criticism from far-right groups for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, in which she enacted strict mitigation measures, including a lockdown of the state. These measures triggered protests in April and May, including one in which armed protesters stormed the Michigan State Capitol.[1][5][9]

President Donald Trump had offered his support for the protests, derisively calling Whitmer "that woman from Michigan" and tweeting on April 17: "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!"[10][11][12] The plot to kidnap Whitmer developed from June through September.[10] There had been reports earlier in the year about private Facebook groups making threatening posts about Whitmer.[13] In April, a Detroit man was charged with threatening to kill Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.[14]

Suspects

The suspects were tied to a paramilitary militia group that called themselves the Wolverine Watchmen. The group was co-founded by suspects Pete Musico and Joseph Morrison; the latter is considered the group's "commander".[15][16][17] The group's website, now inactive, contained a 31-page manual that advocated for a limited government and denied that its members were racist, terrorists, or anti-government. The group was reportedly an offshoot of the Michigan Militia.[18] An NBC News investigation into the suspects' social media profiles found links between their ideologies and those of the broader boogaloo movement, a loosely organized American far-right extremist movement whose participants say they are preparing for a second civil war.[19] It had been recruiting members on Facebook from November 2019 to June 2020, when Facebook began purging all boogaloo-related material.[20]

The suspects named in the federal indictment, charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, were Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta. Five of the men were Michigan residents, while the sixth was from Delaware.[21][22] The suspects charged with state crimes, including providing material support for terrorist acts, firearm crimes, and gang membership, were Wolverine Watchmen founders Musico and Morrison, along with Shawn Fix, Eric Molitor, Michael Null, William Null, and Paul Bellar.[23]

Biographical sketches and motives

Adam Fox and Barry Croft were accused of being the ringleaders of the plot.[24] According to a reporter with NBC affiliate WOOD-TV, Fox had been living in the basement of his former workplace at a vacuum repair shop in Grand Rapids, having been permitted to stay there by the owner because Fox was homeless and had dogs. The basement was used to hold one of the group's meetings.[25][26] Fox posted a YouTube video in June, mentioning Whitmer's handling of the pandemic as one of his motives for the plot.[2] According to his employer, Fox espoused anti-police and anti-government views, along with support for the boogaloo movement, and had recently become worried about the U.S. becoming a communist country and Democratic politicians taking away his guns.[25] Croft's social media accounts depicted him wearing a tricorne and a sweatshirt with an insignia associated with the Three Percenters militia group. He expressed support for the Russia investigation origins counter-narrative and believed the investigations into President Trump constituted an "uprising".[19]

Brandon Caserta was depicted wearing a Hawaiian-style shirt associated with the boogaloo movement in a TikTok video; and on Facebook, he praised Kyle Rittenhouse, a civilian who shot and killed two protesters during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Caserta was also a COVID-19 denier and supported the QAnon conspiracy theory.[27] His belief system apparently became more extreme following Whitmer's implementation of the statewide lockdown. His social media activity originally consisted of posts about comedy shows and podcasts, motivational quotes, and selfies; but following the lockdown, he began "liking" posts about conspiracy theories regarding Bill Gates, as well as memes about hogtying police officers.[19]

Pete Musico was active on YouTube, where he posted video blogs against taxes, gun control, and the so-called deep state. A video posted in 2019, entitled "Gretchen Whitmer Interview", depicted him railing against her policies around automobile ownership. Musico was also active on Gab, where he promoted the unfounded claim that there is an ongoing campaign to kill white people in South Africa. He also followed the accounts of Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs and InfoWars personality Owen Shroyer. On Twitter, he expressed support for Donald Trump and conspiracy theories regarding Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the high presence of mercury in vaccines.[15] His online alias was "Boogaloo Bunyan".[28]

Joseph Morrison's home in Munith, which he shared with Musico, was used as a training site, according to Michigan Assistant Attorney General Gregory Townsend. Photographs of the home show a Confederate battle flag and a variation on the U.S. flag showing alternating red and white stripes in a vertical direction and a circle of stars surrounding the words, “Liberty or Death,” in white on a blue background.[28] Morrison's neighbors told The Daily Beast that the home's residents were "disrespectful" and said large groups regularly gathered there on weekends, whereupon gunfire would be heard.[15]

Two of the suspects, twin brothers Michael and William Null, were photographed at a protest held by Michigan United for Liberty, a right-wing group protesting against Whitmer's COVID-19 lockdown orders, at the Michigan State Capitol on April 30.[29]

Paul Bellar was arrested in Columbia, South Carolina where he had moved from Milford over the summer after an eviction, "was appointed the role of 'Sergeant,' had specific expertise in medical and firearms training and designed tactical exercises for training" for the Wolverine Watchmen.[28] Bellar's former neighbor in Milford called him a "very angry person" and said he threatened her with a gun after a run-in.[30]

Plot

In March 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) became aware of group chats on social media threatening to conduct the violent overthrow of state governments and law enforcement.[23] The FBI started infiltrating the group online and in person with informants in June, according to a criminal complaint.[5][13][14] The plot was reportedly hatched on June 6, during one of the group's meetings in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb located northwest of Columbus.[31][32]

During a "field training event" on June 14,[31] the plotters reportedly discussed recruiting up to 200 people to "storm" the Michigan State Capitol, take Whitmer and others as hostages, and use Molotov cocktails to keep police at bay.[1][16] There were also discussions of attacking a Michigan State Police station.[33] They bought weapons such as an 800,000-volt taser and held training and planning meetings.[1] They also brought in a member of another militia, who later became an informant for the FBI in the investigation, but the second militia's involvement in the plot was kept minimal.[33]

At some point, the plan shifted to kidnapping Whitmer when she was arriving at, or leaving, either her personal vacation home or the Michigan Governor's Summer Residence on Mackinac Island.[34][1][14][16][35] They then planned to take her to a location in Wisconsin while attacking a highway with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to divert police attention or slow law enforcement response. The group purportedly rehearsed their plans and plotted for months ahead of time, discussing hiring a real estate agent to find the home and get advance knowledge of the surrounding area. In August and September, they conducted surveillance on the home. They also tested two IEDs, but both of them failed. The suspects planned to try Whitmer for treason before November 3, the day of the election, and "unite others in their cause and take violent action against multiple state governments that they believe are violating the U.S. Constitution."[1][14][16][35][36] They also discussed starting a second civil war "leading to societal collapse", and creating a new society that adhered to the U.S. Bill of Rights.[1][4]

The plot was thwarted with the arrests of all the members involved on the night of October 7, with charges being laid against them the next day. Search warrants and arrests were executed all across Michigan. The arrests were reportedly part of a planned effort between federal and state authorities, and not in response to an imminent threat. At least seven FBI field offices, along with the operational divisions at the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., were reportedly involved in coordinating the arrests.[37][38][39]

Six people were charged federally for conspiring to commit kidnapping, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, while Attorney General Dana Nessel has charged seven other people with state crimes, including providing material support for terrorist acts, firearm crimes, and gang membership.[23] The federal charges carry an automatic sentence of life imprisonment.[10]

Reactions

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called the plot "one of the largest cases in recent history" and labeled the case as "rather unprecedented" in nature.[40] Whitmer spoke out during a livestream held after the thwarted plot was revealed by the FBI. She thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, called the plotters "sick and depraved men", and cast blame on President Donald Trump for refusing to explicitly condemn far-right groups and for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. State Senator Mike Shirkey and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also condemned the plot.[5][41][42][43] A spokesperson for Facebook, which had been used by the suspects in plotting Whitmer's kidnapping, said the company would be cooperating with the FBI's investigation.[37]

In an October 8 interview, President Trump criticized Whitmer for her rebuke of him in response to the kidnapping plot, saying he condemned all forms of "extreme violence" and called for her to reopen her state.[44] During that interview, Trump falsely claimed that Michigan’s schools and churches were closed under Whitmer’s orders.[45]

Democrats in the Michigan Legislature renewed calls for a ban on guns in the State Capitol building in response to news of the plot, following an unsuccessful September proposal drafted in response to armed anti-lockdown protesters storming the building in April.[46]

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Egan, Paul; Baldas, Tresa (October 8, 2020). "'Deeply disturbing': Feds charge six militia members in domestic terror plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Leone, Jared (October 8, 2020). "FBI thwarts militia plot to kidnap Michigan governor". WSOC-TV. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  3. ^ Snell, Robert; Burke, Melissa Nann. "Plans to kidnap Whitmer, overthrow government spoiled, officials say". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Dewan, Shaila; Gray, Kathleen (October 8, 2020). "F.B.I. Says Michigan Anti-Government Group Plotted to Kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Carrega, Christina; Stracqualursi, Veronica; Campbell, Josh (October 8, 2020). "13 charged in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". CNN. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Smith, Allan (October 8, 2020). "Whitmer says Trump 'complicit' after feds reveal thwarted plot to kidnap her". NBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Militia Movement". The Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Mysterious Wolverine Watchmen militia group 'flew under radar' The Detroit News, October 8, 2020
  9. ^ "FBI busts militia 'plot' to abduct Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer". BBC News. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Gabbatt, Adam (October 8, 2020). "How the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan's Democratic governor unravelled". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  11. ^ Naughtie, Andrew (October 9, 2020). "Trump calls Gretchen Whitmer ungrateful for being saved from militia kidnap plot". The Independent. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  12. ^ 13 charged in plots against Michigan governor, police WLUC, October 8, 2020
  13. ^ a b Arias, Maria (October 8, 2020). "6 people charged in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". Axios. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d Moran, Darcie; Jackson, Angie (October 8, 2020). "Wolverine Watchmen members plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: Here's what we know". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c Perkins, Tom; Weill, Kelly; Sommer, Will; Bredderman, William (October 8, 2020). "The 'Wolverine Watchmen' Accused of Targeting Michigan Guv Spooked Their Neighbors". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d White, Ed (October 8, 2020). "13 charged in plots against Michigan governor, police". Associated Press. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  17. ^ "AG Nessel Charges 7 under Michigan's Anti-Terrorism Act as Part of Massive Joint Law Enforcement Investigation". WSYM-TV. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  18. ^ Jones, Dawn (October 8, 2020). "Wolverine Watchmen: A look at the group accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer". WJRT-TV. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  19. ^ a b c Collins, Ben; Zadronzny, Brandy; Winter, Tom; Siemaszko, Corky (October 8, 2020). "Whitmer conspiracy allegations tied to boogaloo movement". NBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  20. ^ Hatmaker, Taylor (October 8, 2020). "Militia tied to plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer was removed from Facebook in boogaloo purge". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  21. ^ Mangan, Dan (October 8, 2020). "Six men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". MSN News. CNBC. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  22. ^ Clark, Nathan (October 8, 2020). "$10 million bond set for Munith men arrested in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". MLive. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  23. ^ a b c "FBI thwarted militia plot to kidnap Whitmer, overthrow state government". WJRT-TV. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  24. ^ "United States of America v. Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta". U.S. Department of Justice. October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Samples, Susan; LaFurgey, Joe (October 8, 2020). "Boss: Kidnapping plot suspect was 'on edge' recently". WOOD-TV. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  26. ^ Crump, James (October 8, 2020). "Inside the basement where group allegedly plotted to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer". The Independent. London. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  27. ^ Covucci, David; Thalen, Mikael (October 8, 2020). "Pro-Kyle Rittenhouse coronavirus denier arrested in plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer". The Daily Dot. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  28. ^ a b c These 13 men were charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer: Here's what we know Detroit Free Press, October 8, 2020
  29. ^ Catallo, Heather (October 8, 2020). "Photo shows two suspects in alleged kidnapping plot targeting Governor Whitmer inside Michigan Capitol". WXYZ-TV. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  30. ^ Ex-neighbor of militia suspect in Whitmer plot says he threatened her with gun before WJBK, October 8, 2020
  31. ^ a b MacDonald, Christine (October 8, 2020). "Timeline: Key details of alleged plot against Whitmer". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  32. ^ Borchardt, Jackie; Balmert, Jessie (October 8, 2020). "Feds: Plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hatched in Ohio suburb". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Winter, Tom; Kosnar, Michael; Li, David K. (October 8, 2020). "13 men charged in alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer". NBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  34. ^ Livengood, Chad (October 8, 2020). "Feds foil militia plot to kidnap Whitmer from her northern Michigan vacation home". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  35. ^ a b Chute, Nate (October 8, 2020). "What we know about the plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer and how the FBI foiled the militia's plan". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  36. ^ Livengood, Chad (October 8, 2020). "Feds foil militia plot to kidnap Whitmer from her northern Michigan vacation home". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  37. ^ a b Rocha, Veronica; Macaya, Melissa; Wagner, Meg (October 8, 2020). "FBI uncovers plot to kidnap Michigan governor: Live updates". CNN. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  38. ^ Holpuch, Amanda; Bryant, Miranda (October 8, 2020). "Six people charged in plot to kidnap Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  39. ^ Burns, Gus (October 8, 2020). "13 men face charges in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, start 'civil war'". MLive. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  40. ^ Ferretti, Christine; Snell, Robert (October 8, 2020). "Men detonated explosive, used encrypted messages in Whitmer kidnap plot, feds say". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  41. ^ Balmert, Jessie; Borchardt, Jackie (October 8, 2020). "Gov. Mike DeWine on Ohio-hatched plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: 'A despicable act'". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  42. ^ Choi, Joseph (October 8, 2020). "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer responds to kidnapping plot, says Trump 'complicit' in stoking extremists". The Hill. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  43. ^ Golding, Bruce (October 8, 2020). "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blasts 'sick and depraved men' in kidnap plot". The New York Post. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  44. ^ Behrmann, Savannah (October 8, 2020). "Trump says Whitmer didn't say 'thank you' after thwarted kidnapped plot. She did thank law enforcement". USA Today. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  45. ^ Barrett, Malachi (October 9, 2020). "Trump criticizes Whitmer after FBI foiled plot to kidnap Michigan governor". MLive. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  46. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (October 8, 2020). "Michigan Democrats reiterate calls for banning guns from state Capitol building after alleged plot to kidnap governor foiled". CNN. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
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