13 Charged in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor
2020-10-09
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1Police in the United States have arrested 13 people in connection with reported plots to kidnap the governor of Michigan and attack the state's Capitol building.
2A federal court charged six men with plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer from her home.
3The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the group sought to carry out the crime before the U.S. presidential election November 3.
4It says the suspects wanted to act against what they saw as Whitmer's "uncontrolled power."
5Separately, seven other people were charged in state court under Michigan's anti-terrorism laws.
6They are accused of planning to attack police and seeking a "civil war."
7The FBI said four of the men charged had planned Wednesday to meet to "make a payment on explosives and exchange," equipment for kidnapping Whitmer.
8Whitmer, a Democrat, was once considered a possible running mate to presidential candidate Joe Biden.
9She has been both praised and criticized for her actions to deal with the coronavirus health crisis in Michigan.
10The state's Republican Party lawmakers and other conservatives criticized restrictions Whitmer ordered to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
11They said the actions hurt Michigan's people and economy.
12President Donald Trump has also criticized Whitmer.
13Last April, he called on her to reopen the state, posting the statement "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" on social media.
14On Thursday after the charges were announced, Whitmer accused Trump of encouraging extremist groups.
15She noted Trump's refusal to condemn extremist groups during last week's presidential debate, instead telling one such group to "stand back and stand by."
16"Hate groups heard the president's words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action," Whitmer said.
17"When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight."
18Internal U.S. security reports have warned recently about possible plans of violent American extremists in connection to the upcoming elections.
19FBI director Christopher Wray discussed the subject at congressional hearings in September.
20He said the agency was investigating violent American extremists, including white supremacist and anti-fascist groups.
21Wray said the largest part of such investigations concerned white supremacists.
22Andrew Birge is the U.S. attorney for the western district of Michigan.
23He said the FBI learned through social media that a group of people were discussing the "violent overthrow" of Michigan's government.
24That led to a months-long investigation and the arrests.
25The six men facing federal charges are Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta.
26They could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty.
27"The group talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient," the FBI said in a court document.
28"They discussed different ways of achieving this goal from peaceful endeavors to violent actions... Several members talked about murdering 'tyrants' or 'taking' a sitting governor."
29Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the state's charges against seven men who are members of a militia group called Wolverine Watchmen.
30She said the group was looking to identify "the home addresses of law enforcement officers in order to target them."
31Nessel said the accused planned to start a civil war.
32Matthew Schneider is a U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Michigan.
33He said the arrests should send a message that violence will not be accepted.
34"All of us in Michigan can disagree about politics but those disagreements should never, ever amount to violence," Schneider said.
35I'm Caty Weaver.
1Police in the United States have arrested 13 people in connection with reported plots to kidnap the governor of Michigan and attack the state's Capitol building. 2A federal court charged six men with plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer from her home. The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the group sought to carry out the crime before the U.S. presidential election November 3. It says the suspects wanted to act against what they saw as Whitmer's "uncontrolled power." 3Separately, seven other people were charged in state court under Michigan's anti-terrorism laws. They are accused of planning to attack police and seeking a "civil war." 4The FBI said four of the men charged had planned Wednesday to meet to "make a payment on explosives and exchange," equipment for kidnapping Whitmer. 5Whitmer, a Democrat, was once considered a possible running mate to presidential candidate Joe Biden. She has been both praised and criticized for her actions to deal with the coronavirus health crisis in Michigan. 6The state's Republican Party lawmakers and other conservatives criticized restrictions Whitmer ordered to stop the spread of the coronavirus. They said the actions hurt Michigan's people and economy. 7President Donald Trump has also criticized Whitmer. Last April, he called on her to reopen the state, posting the statement "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" on social media. 8On Thursday after the charges were announced, Whitmer accused Trump of encouraging extremist groups. She noted Trump's refusal to condemn extremist groups during last week's presidential debate, instead telling one such group to "stand back and stand by." 9"Hate groups heard the president's words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action," Whitmer said. "When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight." 10Internal U.S. security reports have warned recently about possible plans of violent American extremists in connection to the upcoming elections. 11FBI director Christopher Wray discussed the subject at congressional hearings in September. He said the agency was investigating violent American extremists, including white supremacist and anti-fascist groups. Wray said the largest part of such investigations concerned white supremacists. 12Andrew Birge is the U.S. attorney for the western district of Michigan. He said the FBI learned through social media that a group of people were discussing the "violent overthrow" of Michigan's government. That led to a months-long investigation and the arrests. 13The six men facing federal charges are Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta. They could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. 14"The group talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient," the FBI said in a court document. "They discussed different ways of achieving this goal from peaceful endeavors to violent actions... Several members talked about murdering 'tyrants' or 'taking' a sitting governor." 15Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the state's charges against seven men who are members of a militia group called Wolverine Watchmen. She said the group was looking to identify "the home addresses of law enforcement officers in order to target them." Nessel said the accused planned to start a civil war. 16Matthew Schneider is a U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Michigan. He said the arrests should send a message that violence will not be accepted. 17"All of us in Michigan can disagree about politics but those disagreements should never, ever amount to violence," Schneider said. 18I'm Caty Weaver. 19Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reports from the Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor. 20__________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22rebuke - n. disapproval of someone because of their action or behavior 23internal - adj. coming from inside 24achieve - v. to reach a goal 25endeavor - n. a serious effort or attempt 26address - n. the words or numbers that are used to describe a location of a building