MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Arrested para-military plotters planning to kidnap Michigan governor also targeted taking over the state

“At times, governor Whitmer and her family had been moved around as a result of activities that law enforcement was aware of.”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and her family were at times moved around by authorities as law enforcement tracked the men who allegedly plotted for months to kidnap her, the state's attorney general said on Friday.

Dana Nessel disclosed the details to CBS This Morning, saying that the Democratic governor was consistently updated about the investigation over the past few months. “She was aware of things that were happening,” Nessel said.

“At times, she and her family had been moved around as a result of activities that law enforcement was aware of.” Authorities announced on Thursday that they foiled a stunning plot to kidnap Whitmer in a scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home before the Nov 3 US presidential election.

Six men were charged in federal court with conspiring to kidnap the governor in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power”, according to a federal complaint.

Separately, seven others linked to a paramilitary group called the Wolverine Watchmen were charged in state court for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and seek a “civil war”, including four who allegedly helped to surveil Whitmer’s house.

The two groups trained together and planned “various acts of violence”, according to the state police.

Surveillance for the kidnapping plot took place in August and September, according to an FBI affidavit, and four of the men had planned to meet on Wednesday to “make a payment on explosives and exchange tactical gear.”

”All of us in Michigan can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never, ever amount to violence,“ Detroit US attorney Matthew Schneider told reporters. ”Violence has been prevented today,“ he underlined.

A few hours later, Whitmer pinned some blame on President Donald Trump, noting that he did not condemn white supremacists in last week’s debate with Joe Biden and instead told a far-right group to ”stand back and stand by.”