An FBI agent testified on Tuesday that the suspects accused of planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had also discussed abducting Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam out of spite regarding the “leader’s lockdown” order during the global pandemic.
The information was disclosed by Special FBI agent Richard Trask during a preliminary hearing in the U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There, five suspects are awaiting bond hearings to determine whether they should remain in custody pending the outcomes of their cases.
Before the hearings, the FBI’S case against the suspects was outlined by Trask, claiming that the men were associated with a group of “self-titled militia” members that talked about assaulting government officials after meeting virtually earlier this year.
“The understanding at the time was to potentially kidnap a sitting governor and remove them from office,” Trask testified.
He later mentions that the plan was primarily focused on Whitmer.
“The plan was ultimately to take her and place her on trial at a different location.”
Trask also testified that the alleged suspects had even discussed having someone pose as a pizza delivery guy carrying a gun to Whitmer’s door. In encrypted text messages shown to the court, Daniel Harris, one of the suspects, texted: “Just mug the pizza guy and take his shirt,” and “just take a pistol and like 3 rounds.”
Gov. Northam’s response to this revelation was that he “will not work under a cloud of intimidation.”
“These threats are not coming from any other country,” he continued. “They are coming from Washington.”
A spokeswoman for the governor stated that he was never in “threatening danger” as part of the plot. “Per security protocols” for highly-classified information, Northam was not personally informed of him being discussed in a plot, but members of his security team were made aware.
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