6 US men charged in plot to kidnap governor
Published:Thursday | October 8, 2020 | 12:39 PM
DETROIT (AP) — Six men were charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in federal court.
The men plotted for months, consulting and training with militia members, and undertaking rehearsals in August and September, according to the complaint.
Four of the six men planned to meet Wednesday to “make a payment on explosives and exchange tactical gear,” the FBI said in the court filing.
The FBI quoted one of the accused as saying Whitmer “has no checks and balances at all. She has uncontrolled power right now. All good things must come to an end.”
The government used informants and undercover agents to thwart the alleged plot.
The six men were arrested Wednesday night and each faces up to life in prison.
US attorney Andrew Birge called them “violent extremists.”
“All of us in Michigan can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never, ever amount to violence. Violence has been prevented today,” Detroit U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider told reporters.
The criminal complaint said the plan involved Whitmer and her second home in northern Michigan.
Whitmer has been praised but also deeply criticised for the state’s response to the coronavirus. She put major restrictions on personal movement throughout the state and on the economy, although many of those limits have been lifted.
The criminal complaint did not mention those orders.
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