Michigan, Wisconsin men denied bond in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot
DETROIT — A federal judge overseeing the case of a Waterford man charged in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declined an appeal Thursday to set bail as his case proceeds.
And in Wisconsin state court on Thursday another alleged plotter was denied bond as the government readies its case to extradite the man to Michigan.
Kaleb Franks, whose friends call him “Red Hot,” had been denied bond at his arraignment weeks ago.
Judge Robert Jonker of the Western District of Michigan denied the appeal Thursday in a six-page ruling.
Jonker said “neither oral argument nor a further evidentiary hearing (are) necessary to decide the appeal,” and that “detention is appropriate and finds the Magistrate Judge’s decision factually sound and legally correct.”
Jonker argued that the magistrate’s “detailed” ruling “carefully considered the statutory factors.”
While the magistrate did not see a risk of flight in the Franks case, Jonker said she “properly focused on safety to other persons and the community,” and that pretrial detention made sense for public safety reasons. Jonker wrote:
Franks participated in multiple discussions of a plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer; participated in multiple tactical training exercises with other alleged co-conspirators during the same time period … tested IEDs during one of the training exercises; stated affirmatively in connection with discussions of kidnapping Gov. Whitmer that “I’m in for anything as long as it’s well-planned” … participated in nighttime surveillance of the Governor’s vacation home … and traveled to meet what turned out to be an undercover officer to pay for explosives and tactical gear.