Five people have been arrested in an FBI raid in Michigan over plots to kidnap and assassinate political figures including the state's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer who they believe 'violated' the US Constitution this year with tough pandemic lockdown laws.
The five men were taken into custody in a raid on a house in Detroit on Thursday morning. They have been named as Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta and 24-year-old Ty Garbin. None of the other suspects' ages have yet been released.
In their arrest affidavit, the FBI wrote: 'Several members talked about murdering "tyrants" or "taking' a sitting governor".
The Detroit News first shared details of the FBI operation.
It claims that in June, some of the men held a meeting with 13 other people where they discussed forming their own 'self-sufficient' society.
Five people have been arrested in an FBI raid in Michigan over plots to kidnap and assassinate political figures including the state's Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer (shown above in September)
They talked about 'different ways of achieving this goal, from peaceful endeavors to violent actions. At one point, several members talked about state governments they believed were violating the US Constitution, including the government of Michigan and Governor Gretchen Whitmer,' the FBI affidavit claimed.
The men then tried to recruit members of a known Michigan militia group to help, the affidavit claims. The group was not named.
The FBI discovered the plot through an informant who attended the meeting.
The informant said they were paid more than $8,000 to participate in the group's plans.
'The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.'
Whitmer was widely criticized for her tough lockdown rules in Michigan earlier this year.
There were widespread protests in the state by people who said they wanted the right to continue to work. It's unclear whether the spoiled plot was in relation to her handling of the pandemic. More information is expected later on Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday, three hours before the FBI announcement, Trump called Whitmer the 'lockdown queen,' having previously called her 'that woman from Michigan.'
He told Fox Business News' Maria Bartiromo: 'I won Michigan, which hadn't been won in decades and decades. And we should win it again because I brought so much business there because she's the lockup queen.
'What she's done to that, that place is horrible. She's locked it up. 'She's got people like living in prison. The courts just overturned her. They said what you're doing is unconstitutional.'
