Plot against Whitmer shows domestic terrorism is a threat -- and the calls are coming from inside WH

[marmar]

Plot against Whitmer shows domestic terrorism is a threat — and the calls are coming from inside the White House
Don’t feed the trolls

By Lee DeVito




(Detroit Metro Times) It was a plot that seemingly could have been ripped right out of the pages of a Hollywood action movie script — something like Liam Neeson’s Taken, or a Coen Brothers film, perhaps, or even Joker. A group of men, secretly meeting in a hidden basement under a Grand Rapids vacuum cleaner shop, had cooked up a scheme to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, overthrow the government, and start a civil war before the Nov. 3 election.

The men connected on social media, and some had met up at the various protests against Whitmer’s coronavirus pandemic emergency powers, where they brandished guns. But these weren’t just the fantasies of a group of shit-talking internet trolls. According to law enforcement officials, including the FBI, Michigan State Police, and Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel, the men’s talk had turned to action, going as far as meeting up for training drills, making multiple surveillance missions to Whitmer’s family vacation home up north, and even testing bombs. On Oct. 7, a group of the men met in Ypsilanti to purchase explosives and exchange gear, where undercover FBI agents were waiting for their arrest. Across the state and beyond, agents arrested more than a dozen men connected to the plot.

....(snip)....

In his criminal complaint, FBI special agent Richard Trask said the bureau became aware of the wannabe insurrectionists from social media chatter in early 2020. In fact, Metro Times reporter Steve Neavling covered a public Facebook group, “People vs Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,” which included calls for violence against the governor, in January. The group was created in March 2019 — long before the word “coronavirus” even entered the vocabulary of most Americans. The page also included calls for violence against other Democratic women, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Elissa Slotkin.

In the posts, people — using their real names and profile photos — brazenly talked about shooting Democrats, asked how they could join militias, and even offered to help each other train. When questioned, the creators of the page admitted to Metro Times that the discussion had spiraled out of control, and quickly deactivated it. (Among the nearly 9,000 people who followed the page included state Sen. Peter Lucido, a Shelby Township Republican now running for Macomb County prosecutor. When a Michigan Advance reporter questioned Lucido about his involvement in the group, Lucido said, “The fact that people talk crap back and forth on that page, that’s their crap, not mine. … If those people are talking cowardly and inciting violence, then they should be dealt with accordingly.” The reporter also said Lucido sexually harassed her, creating even more national headlines.)

....(snip)....

Despite his close call with COVID-19, on Saturday Trump held a campaign rally in Muskegon, drawing thousands of his supporters, many following his lead and refusing to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus.

“You’ve got to get your governor to open up her state,” Trump said to the cheering crowd. In response, the crowd started chanting Trump’s 2016 chant against Hillary Clinton: “Lock her up, lock her up, lock her up.” ............(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/foiled-plot-against-whitmer-shows-far-right-domestic-terrorism-is-a-real-threat-and-the-calls-are-coming-from-inside-the-white-house/Content?oid=25594371&utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures&utm_content=HomeTopFeature

[CincyDem]

1. You can be sure that if some group went after a republican governor...

...the FBI would have a nationwide manhunt going for every Democrat who ever said something negative about a republican.

I’m not worried about the deep state but I’m getting really pissed about the dual state...on for rich republicans and another for everyone else.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Millions share your thoughts.