Do you remember back in 2020 when a group of men in Michigan were arrested after a foiled plot to kidnap and assassinate Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer?
The suspects, who were obviously arrested, were accused of calling on the groups’ members to identify the homes of law enforcement officers in order to target them; make threats of violence to instigate a civil war leading to societal collapse; and engage in planning and training for an operation to attack the state Capitol and kidnap government officials, including Gov. Whitmer.
But there seems to be much more to this story than meets the eye as is often the case in incidents like this.
Attorneys for the men allege that the FBI used drugs and “parlor tricks” in order to entrap the men and manipulate them into committing crimes.
None of the attorneys denied that their clients made mean, outrageous, or offensive statements about the governor and others during the summer of 2020. They all denied, however, that any of their clients knowingly agreed to and took concrete steps to carry out a proposed plan to kidnap Whitmer. The defense attorneys made repeated mentions to the number of FBI agents and informants involved in the undercover work and claimed that many aspects of the plot, from training sessions to recon missions to scope out the governor’s residence, were led and underwritten by the FBI.
The FBI informants allegedly rented hotel rooms, provided food, alcohol, and drugs in order to convince them to take part in the plot. This is entrapment, hands down. This should be illegal and the people who should really be found guilty are the ones who created the situation. Think about it with anything else. If someone solicits another person to commit murder on their behalf, but the person they hire is an undercover cop, guess who’s going to jail? It’s the one trying to organize the whole thing. This should stand whether you’re a police officer or not.