Michigan Militia Members Plotted to Kidnap Gov. Whitmer, FBI Alleges
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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The FBI has charged six men with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The complaint alleges that the individuals— Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta—are members of a militia that this year began planning to “participate in attacks against the government” and “kidnapping politicians.” The men in July 2020 began explicitly planning to abduct Gov. Whitmer either from her personal vacation home or the official governor summer residence, according to the affidavit. Fox allegedly stated on July 27 that “after kidnapping the Governor, the group would remove her to a secure location in Wisconsin for ‘trial.’”
The affidavit claims that the men used operational security measures such as encrypted online platforms and “code words” to avoid U.S. law enforcement detection. Fox and Garbin allegedly “discussed the need for the government to collapse because it has become so tyrannical.” The affidavit alleges that members from the group conducted two separate surveillance trips on Gov. Whitmer’s vacation home, both in August and September. A source “provided the FBI with an image of a hand-drawn map of the lake near the vacation home with the mileage of the nearest police departments and the estimated response time,” along with a photo of Fox drawing the map. The group allegedly used information from these trips to begin finalizing plans for the kidnapping operation beginning in mid September. According to the affidavit, Fox repeatedly “expressed his intention and desire to kidnap Governor Whitmer before November 3, 2020, the date of the national election.”
The FBI’s investigation relied upon multiple confidential sources and undercover employees who recorded and relayed the group’s communications over several months.
You can read the affidavit here and below:
