6 indicted in Michigan kidnap plot French president tests positive for COVID-19

A federal grand jury has charged six men with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in what investigators say was a plot by anti-government extremists who were angry over her coronavirus policies.

The indictment released Thursday by U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge levied the conspiracy charge against Adam Dean Fox, Barry Gordon Croft Jr., Ty Gerard Garbin, Kaleb James Franks, Daniel Joseph Harris and Brandon Michael-Ray Caserta. They are all from Michigan except for Mr. Croft, who lives in Delaware.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, Mr. Birge said in a statement.

The six were arrested in early October following an FBI investigation into an alleged plot to kidnap the Democratic governor at her vacation home in northern Michigan.

Defense attorneys have said their clients were “big talkers” who didn’t intend to follow through on the alleged plan.

Wearing a white medical mask, French President Emmanuel Macron went ahead with a planned speech by videoconference Thursday, hours after testing positive for COVID-19 following a week in which he met with numerous European leaders.

The French and Spanish prime ministers and the EU Council president were among many top officials self-isolating because they had recent contact with him.

Mr. Macron took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared” on Thursday morning and will selfisolate for seven days, in line with national health authorities’ recommendations, the presidency said in a brief statement. It did not detail what symptoms Mr. Macron experienced or what treatment he might be receiving.

The 42-year-old president “will continue to work and take care of his activities at a distance,” the statement added. His wife, Brigitte, 67, tested negative on Thursday. She has no symptoms and will self-isolate as a precaution, her office said.