⁍ Thirteen people have been arrested for alleged plots to take the Michigan governor hostage and attack the state capitol building.
⁍ The group aimed to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat and frequent target of Republican President Donald Trump’s ire.
⁍ At one point, the alleged plotters discussed recruiting a force of 200 to storm the state capitol in Lansing and take hostages, but later abandoned the plan in favor of a scheme to kidnap Whitmer at her vacation home.
– Thirteen people, including seven members of the “Wolverine Watchmen” militia group, have been arrested in Michigan for allegedly plotting to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and attack the state capitol building, Reuters reports. According to the Detroit Free Press, the FBI started investigating the Wolverine Watchmen after receiving information that members were discussing the “violent overthrow” of Michigan’s government on social media. Authorities say seven of the 13 people arrested were charged with attempting to kidnap Whitmer, and the other seven were charged with violating the state’s anti-terrorism act by conspiring to kidnap Whitmer and “perpetrate violence,” the Detroit News reports. “All of us in Michigan can disagree about politics but those disagreements should never, ever amount to violence,” the US attorney for the eastern district of Michigan said at a press conference Thursday.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-whitmer/plot-to-kidnap-michigan-governor-thwarted-13-arrested-officials-say-idUSKBN26T2ZF