Man who schemed to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer alleges fellow plotters wanted to use a grenade launcher and machine gun to fight her security at her vacation home
Kaleb Franks, who pleaded guilty in February, spoke as a witness in the trial against four other men charged in the Whitmer kidnapping plot.
news.yahoo.comMan in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot says he lied after arrest
A second man who pleaded guilty in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer admitted Friday that he lied at times after being arrested in 2020 because he didn't want to go to jail. Kaleb Franks was questioned by defense attorneys a day after testifying for prosecutors in the trial of four former allies charged with conspiracy. Franks acknowledged telling investigators that the alleged leader, Adam Fox, was regularly egged on by a man who turned out to be an FBI informant.
news.yahoo.comExperts: Alleged plot against governor signals ominous shift
They railed against politicians, conducted military-style exercises and spoke darkly of confronting tyrants scheming to seize their guns and enslave them. โI don't think they were dangerous," said Vinyard, an Eastern Michigan University professor emeritus and author of a book about far-right movements in the state. In contrast to militants from before, who mostly avoided bloodshed with the horrific exception of the Oklahoma City bombing, some modern successors have taken a more radical and potentially violent turn.
news.yahoo.comJudge finds cases against 5 in Whitmer plot can move forward
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens said the five men's cases can go to a grand jury, which will determine whether to issue indictments. Berens on Tuesday denied bond for the three other Michigan residents charged in the case: Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta. Agent Richard Trask testified that members of anti-government paramilitary groups from several states discussed abducting Whitmer or Virginia Democratic Gov. Authorities found conversations among group members in which they were worried that federal authorities had infiltrated their planning sessions, he said. Berens found that the information presented showed the men had a unified purpose โ to kidnap Whitmer โ allowing the case to move forward.
Agent: Michigan, Virginia governors mentioned in kidnap plot
A judge ordered three of six men charged in the case held without bond until trial, delaying rulings on two defendants. It wasnโt immediately clear if talk of targeting Virginiaโs Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, continued beyond the meeting. Trask, the FBI agent, testified that authorities learned of the June meeting in Ohio while investigating various anti-government groups. Some defendants conducted surveillance of her northern Michigan house in August and September, according to the complaint. Michigan, and particularly the Detroit area, were hit hard early during the pandemic, leading Whitmer to tightly restrict personal movement and the economy.
Six Arrested on Federal Charge of Conspiracy to Kidnap the Governor of Michigan
The Department of Justice today announced that six men have been arrested and charged federally with conspiring to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Through confidential sources, undercover agents, and clandestine recordings, law enforcement learned particular individuals were planning to kidnap the Governor and acting in furtherance of that plan. This group used operational security measures, including communicating by encrypted messaging platforms and used code words and phrases in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement. The FBI and Michigan State Police executed arrests as multiple conspirators met to pool funds for explosives and exchange tactical gear. Agents of the Detroit Field Office of the FBI and other members of their Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Michigan State Police, are conducting the investigation.
justice.gov