The militia group that plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also considered another target — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.
FBI agent Richard Trask testified that Northam was discussed as a potential target in a court hearing on Tuesday, which was held to discuss the conspiracy to kidnap charges filed against six men who were members of a self-proclaimed militia, according to the Washington Post.
“At this meeting they discussed possible targets, taking a sitting governor, specifically issues with the governors of Michigan and Virginia, based upon the lockdown orders,” Trask stated during the hearing, which is meant to determine if some of those who were charged in the case should be released on bond.
“The understanding at the time was to potentially kidnap a sitting governor and remove them from office,” he noted, later adding that the plan ultimately focused on Whitmer. “The plan was ultimately to take her and place her on trial at a different location.”
The FBI, at the time the arrests were announced last week, said it became aware earlier this year through social media that “a group of individuals were discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components” and that two of the men who were arrested “agreed to unite others in their cause and take violent action against multiple state governments that they believe are violating the U.S. Constitution.”
At least 15 men attended a militia meeting near Columbus, Ohio, earlier this year, and one of the people who attended it was a paid FBI informant who turned over evidence to authorities. That informant and other militia members were already on the FBI’s radar as the agency investigated threats against local law enforcement officers.
Seven other men linked to the “Wolverine Watchmen” militia group have also been arrested and charged with state-level charges under Michigan’s anti-terrorism act on top of federal charges.
Similar to Whitmer, Northam angered some right-wing activists with strict coronavirus protocols.
