Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the alleged plot here.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said every time President Trump mentions her online and elsewhere, she see an increase in “violent rhetoric” directed toward her.
Whitmer shared this insight with CNN tonight following news that the FBI foiled an alleged plot to kidnap her.
Whitmer also discussed the upcoming presidential election and the choice Americans have between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
“We have a choice between a leader who is going to have his minions attack people when they are being targeted by domestic terror groups, and we have a leader who calls to see how you’re doing, to check in and to see what they can do to be supportive,” Whitmer said. “It tells you everything you need to know about the character of the two people on this ballot that we have to choose from in a few weeks.”
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Multiple federal resources were surged from across the country to Michigan to conduct the arrests of suspects involved in the alleged planned kidnaping of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a federal law enforcement source involved in the investigation.
The arrests were part of a planned effort in concert with state authorities, and not in response to any imminent urgent or dangerous development, the source said. The suspects remained under surveillance while federal authorities crafted arrest plans and moved the necessary resources into the state.
Because of the complexity of the operation and the likelihood the suspects could be armed and dangerous, at least seven FBI field offices around the country, as well as operational divisions from the bureau’s headquarters in Washington, dispatched resources to execute either search or arrests warrants at approximately a dozen sites, the source said. The surge of resources included SWAT agents, technical exploitation personnel, and evidence technicians.
More details: During the course of the undercover investigation, as soon as the FBI identified a potential threat to the Michigan governor, federal agents contacted the governor’s security detail in order to make them aware of the potential threat, the law enforcement source said.
Periodic updates were provided to the governor’s security detail, although the security detail was not part of the investigative team, the source said.
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Thirteen people were charged Thursday in an alleged domestic terrorism plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, federal and state officials announced.
The alleged scheme included plans to overthrow several state governments that the suspects “believe are violating the US Constitution,” including the government of Michigan and Whitmer, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Six people were charged federally with conspiracy to kidnap, and seven other people, associated with the group “Wolverine Watchmen,” were charged by the state, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
“The individuals in (state) custody are suspected to have attempted to identify the home addresses of law enforcement officers in order to target them, made threats of violence intended to instigate a civil war, and engaged in planning and training for an operation to attack the capitol building of Michigan and to kidnap government officials, including the governor of Michigan,” Nessel said at a press conference.
Former Vice President Joe Biden addressed the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying “there is no place for hate in America.”
During a visit to Phoenix, Arizona, Biden called White supremacists and militia groups a “genuine threat” and added that the words of a president matter.
He said that both he and Sen. Kamala Harris talked to Whitmer and said she is feeling “secure” and good.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, following the arrest of six men who allegedly plotted to kidnap her, gave a warning to anyone who commits crimes.
“Hatred, bigotry and violence have no place in the great state of Michigan,” she added.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer thanked law enforcement for their work foiling an alleged plot to kidnap her and said she “never could imagine anything like this.”
Whitmer also criticized President Trump who “spent the past seven months denying science, ignoring his own health experts, stoking distrust, fomenting anger and giving comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.”
She specifically referenced Trump’s comment during the first presidential debate where he told the far-right group, the Proud Boys, to “stand back and stand by” instead of denouncing them outright.
“Just last week the President of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn White supremacists and hate groups … ‘Stand back and stand by,’ he told them. ‘Stand back and stand by.’ Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action. 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,” Whitmer added.
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Facebook is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation into an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The federal criminal complaint filed Thursday detailed how the suspects had used Facebook, including a private Facebook group, to discuss the alleged plot.
Adding, “We remove content, disable accounts and immediately report to law enforcement when there is a credible threat of imminent harm to people or public safety.”
Five of six men charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared in court Thursday on federal charges.
Earlier Thursday, federal authorities announced they had charged Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta with conspiracy to kidnap.
Croft did not make an appearance during Thursday’s proceedings. It is unclear when he will appear. His information was not immediately available.
The other defendants appeared before a federal judge in Western Michigan on the charges and will remain in the custody of the US Marshals.
The five men who appeared requested the court appoint them attorneys, and will be appointed counsel. Bond hearings have been scheduled for Oct. 13.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said the alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has “all of the earmarks of a very serious plot.”
The complaint alleges that the group conducted surveillance on the governor’s vacation home and detonated a practice explosive – something McCabe said makes the plot “very serious” and “dangerous.”
“I can tell you from my own experience having dealt with literally dozens and dozens of similar plots during my own time in the FBI that this plot has all of the hallmarks of a very serious, dangerous situation that we are all fortunate the FBI and partners have gotten in the middle of,” he said.
Six men were charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The complaint details some of the meetings the men had where they discussed the plot. Here’s what we know so far:
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will deliver prepared remarks this afternoon following an FBI announcement of an alleged plot to kidnap her.
According to a federal criminal complaint, six men were charged Thursday in the alleged plot.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were charged in the Western District of Michigan with conspiracy to kidnap.
Andrew Birge, the US Attorney of the Western District of Michigan, said law enforcement worked together to make sure elected leaders are protected and the men arrested in the plot face up to life in prison if convicted.
Birge said the men used security measures like “communicating by encrypted message platforms” and using code words to avoid being detected by law enforcement.
Birge said the complaint also indicated that one of the men “purchased a taser for use in the kidnapping and that the group successfully detonated an improvised explosive device wrapped with shrapnel to test its anti-personnel capabilities.”
Col. Joseph Gasper, with the Michigan State Police, said this case is one of the largest his department his been involved in lately.
“This case is one of the largest cases in recent history that the MSP has been involved in, and I think that the nature of this case is rather unprecedented,” he said at a news conference.
He added that while US may be in a “period of discourse,” right now, law officials are united.
“But it does send a very vivid reminder that while we may be in a time period of discourse — possibly even divisiveness and fighting across the nation — law enforcement stands united,” he said.
He continued:
Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey condemned the threat against the state’s governor Thursday, saying “a threat against our Governor is a threat against us all.”
His statement comes as six men were charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a federal criminal complaint.
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The five defendants arrested by the FBI yesterday will make an initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Sally Berens at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The sixth defendant is not expected to be in court today. The five defendants are expected to appear in person.
Six men were charged Thursday in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were charged in the Western District of Michigan with conspiracy to kidnap.
The FBI became aware through a social media group of individuals that were discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components, according to the criminal complaint.
Court documents say the FBI planted a confidential informant to travel to Dublin, Ohio, on June 6 for a meeting with Croft, Fox and about 13 others.
“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,” according to the complaint.
At one point during the meeting, the group discussed increasing its members and Fox reached out to a “Michigan base militia group,” according to the complaint.
By June 14, a second confidential informant confirmed that Fox was introduced to the leader of the militia group and they met in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The informant audio recorded conversations with Fox where he said he needed “200 men” to storm the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan, and take hostages, including Whitmer, according to the criminal complaint.”
Fox explained they would try the Governor of Michigan for “treason,” and he said they would execute the plan before the November 2020 elections, according to the criminal complaint.
On June 20, Fox, Garbin and others met at Fox’s business in Grand Rapids where attendees met in the basement to turn over their cell phones that would be placed in a trap door hidden under a rug on the main floor, according to the criminal complaint.
