Six people have been accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a criminal complaint from the FBI.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta have been named in the complaint. Croft is from Delaware; the rest are Michigan residents.
According to the complaint, a Michigan-based militia group, Wolverine Watchmen, attempted to recruit members for the operation, which included storming the Capitol building in Lansing and taking hostages, including Whitmer.
The plan was reportedly supposed to be executed before the November 2020 election.
The militia group reportedly held several meetings over the summer where they participated in firearms training and combat drills. The group attended a training session in Cambria, Wisconsin, about 90 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
According to the complaint, they also attempted to build IED devices, which were faulty and did not detonate as planned.
The group then reportedly decided to abduct the governor at her vacation home in western Michigan and take her to a secure location in Wisconsin for "trial."
In August, federal officials say the group allegedly conducted surveillance of her home on two occasions. On Wednesday night, the FBI and Michigan State Police spent hours raiding a home in Hartland, Michigan — a town about an hour west of Detroit — on Wednesday night, which continued into the early morning of Thursday.
The house is located on Lansing Avenue in Hartland Meadows near M-59 in Livingston County.
Several Michigan State Police vehicles, including their SWAT team, were also on scene alongside FBI agents. Some officers were dressed in camo gear carrying guns. U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge said the suspects were conducting a meeting regarding the plot at the time of the raid.
"Those of us in Michigan can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never end in violence," U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said.
This story was originally published by WXYZ in Detroit.
