It was reported on Thursday that six men were arrested after plotting to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer over her mask mandates in the state.
Just three months ago, Attorney General William Barr insisted that he was unaware of violent threats against Whitmer, even as the FBI was working to investigate a kidnapping plot against her.
According to The Detroit News, the FBI described the violent plot to kidnap Whitmer and claimed that the men wanted to put her on “trial” for treason ahead of the election. They had been investigating since spring.
“Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit. “The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.”
Two of the suspects charged Thursday gathered in June with 13 other individuals from various states in Dublin, Ohio, for a meeting that was recorded by a paid FBI informant.
“The group talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient,” the FBI agent wrote. “They discussed 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 U.S. Constitution, including the government of Michigan and Governor Gretchen Whitmer.”
At the end of July, Barr testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, where he was asked by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) if he was aware of the threats against Whitmer.
“Tyrants get the rope,” read one sign carried at an April 30 demonstration.
Jayapal pointed out that Trump and Barr had taken an “aggressive approach” against Black Lives Matter protesters but hadn’t cracked down on armed protests by “right-wing extremists threatening to lynch a governor.”
“Are you aware that these protesters called for the governor to be lynched, shot and beheaded?” Jayapal asked Barr at the July 28 hearing.
Barr then claimed that he was not aware, despite Michigan demonstrations making national news.
“There are a lot of protests around the U.S.,” Barr said.
I'm no expert, but seems like the AG would've been aware of Federal LEOs thwarting a plot to kidnap a sitting Governor.
Isn't this perjury? Really clear-cut perjury?https://t.co/Kn4Ei10efx
— ContextFall (@ContextFall) October 8, 2020
