Closing arguments are underway in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols’ civil rights in a fatal beating.

Experts say far-right groups in the U.S. are taking a more dangerously radical turn as four men go on trial in an alleged scheme to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

The Michigan Militia was first brought to the spotlight after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. AdTimothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the men who carried out the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, were said to have attended Michigan Militia meetings. Dr. JoEllen Vinyard, a retired EMU history professor, studied the Michigan Militia in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. “That was one of their major worries across all the different groups.”The early meetings of the Michigan Militia were attended by McVeigh and Nichols. April 9, 2013: Hutaree members sue FBI, Michigan State PoliceAdArena said militia groups have always been a concern for the FBI.

Activists Tyasha Harrison, left, and Holly T. Bird pose along the Grand Traverse Bay waterfront in Traverse City, Mich., Feb. 13, 2021. “In this age, no place is an island,” said Warren Call, president of a business organization in Traverse City, the county seat. Producers of the fruit for which Traverse City bills itself “cherry capital of the world” are struggling to survive. The area remains solidly Republican, although Democrats have captured two county commission seats representing Traverse City, which has a gay mayor. Her organization formed after a Black Lives Matter rally along the Traverse City waterfront last summer.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer campaigns with Dan O'Neil, a Democratic candidate for the Michigan House in Traverse City, Mich., Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Whitmer visited the area the day after police announced a foiled plot to kidnap the governor. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, convicted in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building that killed 168 people, were reported to have met with Michigan militia activists. In many ways, their focus is unchanged, including contempt for authority, reverence for the Second Amendment and backwoods military-style training exercises. The group used Facebook to recruit members and communicated on an encrypted messaging platform, the affidavit said. The ADL said it wasn’t immediately clear if the suspects had extensive ties to other self-styled militia groups. Their more recent focus on state governments makes the job of monitoring them and preventing terrorist activities harder, he said.

A Lebanese army helicopter flies over the scene where an explosion hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Prime Minister Hassan Diab, in a short televised speech, has appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the small nation, saying: "We are witnessing a real catastrophe." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Some other recent deadly explosions involving ammonium nitrate:Aug. 12, 2015: A massive warehouse explosion rocked the port city of Tianjin, China, killing 173 people and injuring nearly 800. Investigators found the warehouse held illegal stores of ammonium nitrate, which caught fire and caused a series of blasts. The fire ignited in a seed room and quickly engulfed an area where ammonium nitrate was stored in wooden containers. According to investigators, the primary ingredient of the main bomb that tore through the popular Kuta nightclub district was ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate was found to be the main ingredient.

From the desk of Jason Carr: Had a Good Humor ice cream bar recently and it made me think of when I was a kid. The ice cream man would come around our subdivision and if he wasnt the Good Humor man in his white outfit and bowtie, and signature truck, then my Moms answer would always be no. And there are no Good Humor trucks that come to my street anyway. Watch beginning at 4:30 a.m.Sign up for the Morning Show Insider newsletter here! 6:10 -- Fitness Friday: Weapons for Weight LossA local man lost nearly 100 pounds and he wants to share his secret for success with you!

From the desk of Jason Carr: Had a Good Humor ice cream bar recently and it made me think of when I was a kid. And there are no Good Humor trucks that come to my street anyway. Here's what's coming up Friday, August 9th, 2019 on Local 4 News Today. All Morning -- Weekend ConstructionGet ready for another round of orange barrels. 6:10 -- Fitness Friday: Weapons for Weight LossA local man lost nearly 100 pounds and he wants to share his secret for success with you!