On Thursday (October 8) afternoon, Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, held a press conference to address the arrest of over one dozen men on federal and state charges in connection to a foiled plot to kidnap her.
Six of the men- identified as Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta- were apprehended and charged with federal crimes. The other seven, revealed to be Paul Bellar, 21, Shawn Fix, 38, Eric Molitor, 36, Michael Null, 38, William Null, 38, Pete Musico, 42, and Joseph Morrison, 42, were picked up on state charges.
It was also revealed that the men were linked to the Wolverine Watchmen militia, which was involved in discussions about a "violent overthrow" of certain government and law enforcement officials. Officials also revealed that the six men facing federal charges used encrypted messaging to communicate about the plot, conducted coordinated surveillance on the governor's vacation home, and detonated an improvised explosive device wrapped with shrapnel.
A July meeting between an informant and Fox revealed that the defendant stated, "Snatch and grab, man. Grab the f**king governor. Just grab the b*tch-. Because at that point, we do that, dude — it’s over." According to U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge, Fox and Croft also spoke about "detonating explosive devices to divert police from the area of the (governor's vacation) home."
