Last night, there were FBI raids in Wexford County and Hartland, leading to several arrests. At roughly the same time, another five men were taken into custody in Ypsilanti by agents of the FBI. [While they were arrested here, it doesn’t look as though any of the men lived in Ypsilanti.] According to court documents, there seems to be credible evidence that the men, identified as anti-government extremists, were involved in a plot to kidnap and assassinate political figures, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. [The men had recently surveilled Whitmer’s summer home, and were apparently in the process of securing explosives, when the FBI moved in and arrested them.] The men who were arrested today in Ypsilanti were; Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta. All, as I understand it, are members of a militia group (terrorist organization) that calls itself the Wolverine Watchmen. [A total of 13 people were charged in relation to the plot today.] Their objective, it would seem, was to instigate a civil war prior to the election. As of right now, I do not believe that the President of the United States has condemned the alleged actions, or, for that matter, reached out to Whitmer to offer his support.

There’s much more I’d like to say, but, it’ll have to wait for later. Here, in the meantime, is an excerpt from the New York Times that notes the fact that five men mentioned above were arrested here in Ypsilanti. [I still haven’t been able to ascertain why they were here, whether they just happened to get off the highway here, or if perhaps they had come here looking to procure the explosives they needed for their attack against Whitmer.]

And here’s Whitmer earlier today, addressing the press, and noting Donald Trump’s role in instigating these kinds of anti-government activities. It should be noted that these men used the armed protest in Lansing this past April, which was supported and promoted by Donald Trump, to — in the words of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel — “engage membership and to recruit new members.”

#BREAKING: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer slams Trump in response to kidnapping plot: "'Stand back and stand by.' Hate groups heard the President's words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry. As a call to action." pic.twitter.com/c0U5HdAh1T

— The Hill (@thehill) October 8, 2020

Oh, and here’s an excerpt from the court filing against the men who have been charged. I thought I’d include it so as to cut short any discussion about how this might not have been a credible plot. As you can read here, after several meetings in secret, the men in question traveled to the Governor’s summer home to plot the specifics of their attack. I’d encourage you to read the entire thing.

One last thing… Let’s not forget this tweet from April, when Donald Trump, egging on his armed supporters in Lansing, urged them to “liberate” the state of Michigan from Whitmer. [Many of the men charged today, at been at the armed protest in Lansing.] And this, of course, is the same Donald Trump who just a few days ago, directed the white supremacists of America to “stand by”. This context, I think, is important.

update: Not surprisingly, the response of the Trump White House was to demonize the democratically elected governor of Michigan targeted for assassination, blaming her for “sowing division” by pointing out his clear role in encouraging the actions of home-grown domestic terrorists like these.

update: Donald Trump himself just tweeted at Governor Whitmer, essentially blaming her for the fact that these men wanted to kidnap and kill her, saying that she’s done a “terrible job” here in Michigan. He then went on to complain that she hasn’t thanked him for the work of his Justice Department in breaking up the plot. It’s really un-fucking-believable.

update: Fox News is reporting that the men were in Ypsilanti to purchase explosives.