Wisconsin judge denies bail for man accused in Whitmer kidnap plot
DETROIT — A Wisconsin man accused of helping with the alleged surveillance of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s vacation home was denied bail on Thursday while his lawyer prepares to fight his extradition to Michigan.
Brian Higgins, 52, will remain in custody in Columbia County, Wisconsin, until an extradition hearing scheduled for Dec. 15.
The hearing will focus on extradition paperwork Whitmer signed. Higgins’ lawyer, Christopher Van Wagner, said Wednesday that Whitmer should not have signed the document because she has a conflict of interest as the potential victim in the alleged kidnap plot.
A Columbia County prosecutor argued Thursday that Higgins should not be released before the extradition hearing because Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers — after receiving Whitmer’s paperwork — has now signed a warrant for his delivery to Michigan,
changing his status in the eyes of the law.
Higgins previously was given a bond following his arrest, but before the signing.
“I would suggest to the court that what we’re seeing here is a use of the extradition proceeding to delay and frustrate the prosecution and the resolution of this matter in the state of Michigan,” Columbia County Assistant District Attorney Jordan Lippert said.
Van Wagner, however, said prosecutors are trying to fill gaps in the law in a way that would wrongfully detain Higgins indefinitely.
After hearing both sides, Columbia Circuit Court Judge Todd Hepler acknowledged a gray area in the law, but ruled against bond because Higgins still has a chance to challenge his extradition.
“There is a method of redress for the defendant in an extradition case and it is my interpretation that that substitutes for granting of bail during that time,” Hepler said.
Higgins looked down at his cuffed hands as Hepler spoke, slumping down further when Hepler gave his ruling. He was in an orange jumpsuit and blue mask, a day after appearing via Zoom at his Wisconsin home, free.
Hepler’s ruling bucks a recent trend in which other defendants in the kidnap case have been released on reduced bond.
The Michigan attorney general’s office has adamantly argued against lowering bond for those accused in the case, a spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.
“The decisions to lower the bonds for some of those defendants have been disappointing, and we remain concerned that these men are out in our communities,” said Ryan Jarvi, a spokesman for the AG’s office.
The office also defended Whitmer’s signing of Higgins’ extradition paperwork.
“This is a transparent attempt to cast doubt on what is nothing more than a procedural action by Gov. Whitmer, who is restricted by law to very few circumstances in which she cannot be the signatory on an extradition document,” Jarvi said.