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Six people have been accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to a criminal complaint from the FBI.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta have been named in the complaint. Croft is from Delaware; the rest are Michigan residents.
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According to the complaint, a Michigan-based militia group attempted to recruit members for the operation, which included storming the Capitol building in Lansing and taking hostages, including Whitmer.
The plan was reportedly supposed to be executed before the November 2020 election.
The militia group reportedly held several meetings over the summer, where they participated in firearms training and combat drills.
According to the complaint, they also attempted to build IED devices, which were faulty and did not detonate as planned.
The group then reportedly decided to abduct the governor at her vacation home and take her to a secure location in Wisconsin for “trial.”
In August, federal officials say the group allegedly conducted surveillance of her home on two occasions.
On Wednesday night, the FBI and Michigan State Police spent hours raiding a home in Hartland, Michigan — a town about an hour west of Detroit — on Wednesday night, which continued into the early morning of Thursday.
The house is located on Lansing Avenue in Hartland Meadows near M-59 in Livingston County.
Several Michigan State Police vehicles, including their SWAT team, were also on scene alongside FBI agents. Some officers were dressed in camo gear carrying guns.
Law enforcement and justice officials — including U.S. attorneys Andrew Birge (Western District of Michigan) and Matthew Schneider (Eastern District of Michigan) and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel — will gather Thursday for a press conference at 1 p.m.
This story was originally published by WXYZ in Detroit.