FBI: Plotters suggested Va. governor
Northam discussed as possible abduction target, agent testifies
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Members of anti-government paramilitary groups implicated in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor over measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus also discussed abducting Virginia’s governor, an FBI agent testified Tuesday.
During a hearing in a Grand Rapids federal court to review the evidence against Brandon Caserta, Adam Fox, Kaleb Franks, Ty Garbin and Daniel Harris, Magistrate Judge Sally Berens ordered Caserta, Franks and Harris to be held without bond until the trial and said she would rule on the other men’s bond requests on a later date. A sixth defendant Barry Croft, of Delaware, was ordered to be transferred to Michigan to face the charges.
Berens’ ruling came after a daylong hearing in which FBI agent Richard Trask revealed new details about investigators’ use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication in the alleged plot aimed at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The FBI discovered the June 6 meeting in Dublin, Ohio, during an investigation of various anti-government groups, leading to the monthslong case in Michigan that relied on confidential sources, undercover agents and clandestine recordings to foil the alleged kidnapping conspiracy.
It was not clear whether talk of targeting Virginia’s Democratic governor went beyond the June meeting, and nothing from a criminal complaint or from Trask’s testimony Tuesday indicated that anyone had been charged with plotting
against Northam. Trask said members of anti-government groups from “four or five” states attended that meeting, and the complaint noted that Croft and Fox were among the roughly 15 people who were there.
“They discussed possible targets, taking a sitting governor, specifically issues with the governor of Michigan and Virginia based on the lockdown orders,” Trask said. He said the people at the meeting were unhappy with the governors’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
During a news conference Tuesday, Northam said he wasn’t going to discuss the alleged plot and stressed that he and his family feel safe with the security the state police provide.
“I’m continuing my work for the commonwealth as I would any other day.”
Earlier Tuesday, Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, issued a statement in which she said the FBI alerted key members of Northam’s security team throughout the course of its investigation, but neither the governor nor members of his staff were informed, as per security protocols for highly classified information. She said the governor and his family were never believed to be in imminent danger, and that there have been enhanced security measures in place for them for quite a while.
“Here’s the reality: President Trump called upon his supporters to ‘ LIBERATE VIRGINIA’ in April — just like Michigan. In fact, the President regularly encourages violence against those who disagree with him. The rhetoric coming out of this White House has serious and potentially deadly con
sequences. It must stop,” Yarmosky said in a news release.
President Donald Trump urged supporters to “LIBERATE” Michigan, Virginia and Minnesota in a series of tweets in April, encouraging protesters who turned up at state Capitols to oppose restrictions aimed at minimizing the spread of the virus.
Following the arrests last week, the White House said the president has condemned hate, and Trump tweeted: “I do not tolerate ANY extreme violence.”
In the Michigan case, authorities said the men were trying to retaliate against Whitmer due to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Some defendants conducted coordinated surveillance of the Democratic
governor’s vacation home in northern Michigan in August and September, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities said four of the men had planned to meet last week to pay for explosives and exchange tactical gear.
Defense attorneys for several of the men used their opportunity to question Trask about the investigation to suggest that their clients were “big talkers” who didn’t intend to follow through with action.
During investigations of paramilitary-type groups, “you find a lot of people who talk about things, but they’re never a threat to do anything. It’s fairly common in these groups?” Scott Graham, attorney for Franks, asked Trask. “Big talk between crackpots — you’ve seen that, haven’t you?”
Graham described Franks as a “follower, not a leader” and argued that he shouldn’t be detained before trial. He said Franks was a drug addict but had turned his life around and said there is “no evidence whatsoever” he would be a flight risk.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler countered that it was a “serious plot” and argued that Franks should not be released.
“There’s a serious public safety risk,” he said, not disputing that Franks was more of a follower than the men who allegedly led the plot.
The defendants face up to life in prison if convicted.
Seven others linked to a paramilitary group called the Wolverine Watchmen were charged in state court for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and providing material support for terrorist acts by seeking a “civil war.”