Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia Governor Ralph Northam during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified Tuesday during a court hearing for a group of men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor.
Special Agent Richard Trask also revealed new details about investigators' use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to arrest and charge six men last week in the plot aimed at Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Trask said members of anti-government groups from "four or five" states attended that meeting, and the complaint noted that Croft and Fox were among the roughly 15 people who were there.
"They discussed possible targets, taking a sitting governor, specifically issues with the governor of Michigan and Virginia based on the lockdown orders," Trask said.
The FBI alerted key members of Northam's security team throughout the course of its investigation, but neither the governor nor members of his staff were informed, as per security protocols for highly classified information, said Northam's spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky.
"Here's the reality: President Trump called upon his supporters to 'LIBERATE VIRGINIA' in April — just like Michigan.
"Groups like this group, these domestic terrorists, are finding comfort and support in the rhetoric coming out of Republican leadership from the White House to our statehouse," Whitmer said.
Following the arrests last week, the White House said the president has condemned hate, and Mr.
In a statement Tuesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Mr.
In the Michigan case, authorities said the men were trying to retaliate against Whitmer due to what they viewed as her "uncontrolled power" during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trask, the FBI agent, also testified Tuesday that Fox said in a post-arrest interview that he considered taking Whitmer from her vacation home out onto Lake Michigan and stranding her there on a disabled boat.
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