Plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer busted, sparks fresh controversy over ideological extremism

This appeared in The Millennial Source

The disclosure of the kidnapping plot ignited a war-of-words between Whitmer and Trump over a variety of issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to ideological extremism.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) charged thirteen people on Thursday, October 8, in an alleged domestic terrorism plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and violently overthrow the government.

According to a federal criminal complaint, the plot aimed to harm Whitmer and overthrow state governments, including the government of Michigan, which the suspects believed were violating the US Constitution.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Thursday that seven out of the thirteen belonged to the militia group “Wolverine Watchmen” and had been charged by the state; while the other six charged, by the federal government with conspiracy to kidnap, were Michigan residents.

“The individuals in (state) custody are suspected to have attempted to identify the home addresses of law enforcement officers in order to target them, made threats of violence intended to instigate a civil war, and engaged in…