On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrests of 13 men suspected of orchestrating a domestic terror plot to kidnap American politician Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, and otherwise using violence to overthrow the state government.

[26] Whitmer, the main target of the plot, had seen her political profile elevated over the preceding months due to her early response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Michigan, in which she enacted strict statewide mitigation measures such as a lockdown of the state.

[44] The suspects named in the federal indictment, charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, were Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta.

[2] According to his employer, Fox espoused anti-police and anti-government views, along with support for the boogaloo movement, and had recently become worried about the U.S. becoming a communist country and Democratic politicians taking away his guns.

Brandon Caserta, a Canton resident, was shown wearing a Hawaiian-style shirt associated with the boogaloo movement in a TikTok video, and, on Facebook, he praised Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who shot three individuals (killing two of them) during the Kenosha unrest in August.

[83][97] According to William, both he and his brother attended gun drills and helped to scout Governor Whitmer's home, but refused to take part in the plot once Fox suggested getting explosives.

[94] Paul Bellar, who was arrested in Columbia, South Carolina, where he had moved from Milford over the summer after an eviction, was responsible for designing the tactical training exercises used by the Wolverine Watchmen, which included the use of firearms, medical treatment, and other tasks.

[108] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that they became aware of group chats on social media in early 2020 threatening to conduct the violent overthrow of state governments and law enforcement.

[74][82][112] According to many of the plotters, as detailed in a report by BuzzFeed News, their first meetings were arranged by someone who turned out to be a longtime government informant from Wisconsin, who paid for hotel rooms and food as incentives.

[112] On March 30, Pete Musico, a co-founder of the Wolverine Watchmen, made a comment about placing Whitmer under citizen's arrest and numerous other statements on tape that prosecutors later said had indicated "a violent intent".

Participants reportedly discussed peaceful and violent actions of achieving this goal, with talks shifting to how state governments were allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution, how "tyrants" should be killed, and that those present should return home to recruit neighbors.

[107][119] Starting at that point, the FBI began compiling photographs, video footage, telephone calls, and encrypted messages made by the suspects and storing them as evidence on a USB flash drive.

That day, Fox contacted one confidential source in a recorded phone call, detailing the Ohio meeting, and he requested "200 men" to attack the State Capitol in order to take Whitmer and others as hostages and to hold a "trial" for the governor, accusing her of treason.

[82] Training first occurred on June 28 in Munith, Michigan at a militia member's property, with Fox, his girlfriend, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Caserta, and a confidential source participating in the exercises.

"[114] Court documents released on November 13 alleged that in addition to storming the State Capitol, there were plans of executing hostages and televising them over the course of a week, or locking people inside the building, while the Legislature was in session, and setting it on fire with the intention of leaving no survivors.

[82] Fox invited participants to his Grand Rapids location on July 27, where a confidential source provided recordings of discussions that shifted to kidnapping Whitmer when she was arriving at, or leaving, either her personal vacation home or the Michigan Governor's Summer Residence on Mackinac Island.

A source captured audio of an August 29 surveillance operation, where Fox drove by the Whitmer family's vacation home, took photographs, and discussed response times of police in the area.

The next day on August 30, the FBI said screen captures of the group chat showed Garbin suggesting the demolition of a bridge over the Elk River, near the vacation home, to slow and distract police.

[82] At a discussion recorded at Garbin's property on September 13, Fox said the plan would strictly be a kidnapping, with the end result reportedly being either the abandonment of Whitmer on a boat in Lake Michigan or her being subjected to a trial as a "tyrant" in Wisconsin.

The arrests were reportedly part of a planned effort between federal and state authorities, launched after evidence was discovered indicating the suspects wanted to kidnap Whitmer before the 2020 election.

[112] Several weapons and other items were seized, including at least 1,916 rounds of pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammunition; hundreds of firearms; extended magazines; various suppressors; speedloaders; and bomb-making equipment.

[120][141] On October 28, an unsealed search warrant revealed that some of the defendants had discussed South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster as another possible target during the early stages of planning in March.

[129] In December 2021, the five remaining defendants (Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta) – who were then still in custody – filed a motion to have the charges against them dismissed on the grounds of entrapment.

She thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, called the plotters "sick and depraved men", and cast blame on President Trump for refusing to explicitly condemn far-right groups and for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[186] Delaware Governor John Carney, who pardoned one of the suspects in 2019, called the federal charges "disturbing" and said, "This is also another warning sign about the growing threat of violence and radicalization in our politics.

[187] In an October 8 interview, President Trump criticized Whitmer for her rebuke of him in response to the kidnapping plot, saying he condemned all forms of "extreme violence" and calling for her to reopen her state.

[192] In a subsequent interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Whitmer called Trump's rhetoric "incredibly disturbing" and said it is "inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism".

[196] Dar Leaf, the elected sheriff of Barry County, Michigan, appeared to defend two of the suspects in an October 8, 2020 interview, saying that "a lot of people are angry with the governor, and they want her arrested.

"[205] Shortly after the interview, Chatfield and Speaker-Elect Jason Wentworth released a statement disavowing any threat of violence or intimidation and announcing Eisen would be removed from his committee assignments for the rest of the term.

[131] A scheduled October 13 campaign stop by Eric Trump at a Lyon Township gun store was moved to a banquet center in Novi after it was discovered one of the suspects had worked there for three weeks before being fired.