Three of the men charged in a domestic terror plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer actually signed up, trained and plotted ways to shoot and kill her, according to FBI testimony.
Officials said Ty Garbin, Daniel Harris, Kaleb Franks -- who were all charged with conspiracy to kidnap the governor -- were “all in” on actually killing Whitmer.
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Harris, of Lake Orion, insisted on ideas of shooting Whitmer, not kidnapping her, according to FBI testimony. He was working with Franks, of Waterford Township, and Garbin, of Hartland, officials said.
FBI agents said Garbin is a member of the Wolverine Watchmen domestic terror group who was recruited into the plot against Whitmer. His Hartland home was raided by FBI agents as part of the investigation, testimony revealed.
Some of their ideas for killing the governor included sniping her at the Capitol Building in Lansing, acting like a passerby and shooting her or posing as a pizza man and shooting her, according to authorities.
Harris specifically said they could attack a pizza delivery worker, take that person’s uniform and pose as the delivery worker to get to the front door, according to the FBI.
Harris held a meeting at his home to confirm the identities of everyone involved in the larger kidnapping plot, FBI officials said. The group believed their talks had been compromised.
Harris ordered everyone to stay off of encrypted apps and made group members bring pay stubs to his house for vetting, according to authorities.
The leaders of the plot wanted to make the group smaller and press on quickly with their plans, FBI agents said. Harris was pushing forward to try to kill Whitmer, according to testimony.
Harris and Garbin were pictured at some point with silenced rifles, FBI agents said. Garbin’s was illegal, officials said.
The FBI agent who gave this testimony specializes in investigating terrorism.
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