PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
"Our field office is going to close unless we show a need for it, here plenty of people hate her..."
Six people charged after allegedly plotting to abduct, kill Michigan Gov. Whitmer
- Thread starter RoseRed
- Start date
Defense Lawyers Ask Judge To Dismiss Whitmer Kidnap Case, Claim Evidence Shows Defendants Had No Interest In Plot But Fed Agents and Informants Kept Pushing
The defense team for the “radical extremists” who are being accused of participating in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s unpopular Governor Gretchen Whitmer are calling on the judge to throw out the case against their clients.
The defense team for the “radical extremists” who are being accused of participating in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s unpopular Governor Gretchen Whitmer are calling on the judge to throw out the case against their clients.
PeoplesElbow
Well-Known Member
There was a conspiracy of not liking the governor, there will be no organized dislike.
Men Indicted For Alleged Conspiracy To Kidnap Gretchen Whitmer Ask For Dismissal Following Allegations FBI Orchestrated Plot
Graham, however, noted in his motion to dismiss that there was “no plan to kidnap, no operational plan, and no details about how a kidnapping would occur or what would happen afterward.” Further, he argued, it was government agents and their informants who actually “concocted” the kidnapping plot.
Reporting by BuzzFeed News appears to back up Graham’s claims. The outlet produced a deep dive into the situation earlier this month, explaining that the October 8, 2020, announcement that the FBI had stopped a kidnapping plot against Whitmer “was quickly hailed as one of the most important domestic terrorism prosecutions in a generation.”
BuzzFeed noted that the “case seemed like a lock — until an informant and one FBI agent were charged with crimes, another was accused of perjury, and a third was found promoting a private security firm.”
FBI agent Jayson Chambers was known to be instrumental in securing the indictments against the defendants, but BuzzFeed discovered that Chambers had incorporated a private security firm a year and a half before the alleged plot and had been trying to get the business off the ground, in part by using his FBI bona fides. Five days after BuzzFeed reported on the business, the FBI announced Chambers would not be called to testify during the kidnapping trial.
Graham, however, noted in his motion to dismiss that there was “no plan to kidnap, no operational plan, and no details about how a kidnapping would occur or what would happen afterward.” Further, he argued, it was government agents and their informants who actually “concocted” the kidnapping plot.
Reporting by BuzzFeed News appears to back up Graham’s claims. The outlet produced a deep dive into the situation earlier this month, explaining that the October 8, 2020, announcement that the FBI had stopped a kidnapping plot against Whitmer “was quickly hailed as one of the most important domestic terrorism prosecutions in a generation.”
BuzzFeed noted that the “case seemed like a lock — until an informant and one FBI agent were charged with crimes, another was accused of perjury, and a third was found promoting a private security firm.”
FBI agent Jayson Chambers was known to be instrumental in securing the indictments against the defendants, but BuzzFeed discovered that Chambers had incorporated a private security firm a year and a half before the alleged plot and had been trying to get the business off the ground, in part by using his FBI bona fides. Five days after BuzzFeed reported on the business, the FBI announced Chambers would not be called to testify during the kidnapping trial.
The Gretchen Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Looks an Awful Lot Like Entrapment
"The FBI Investigation Into The Alleged Plot To Kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Has Gotten Very Complicated," conceded BuzzFeed News in an in-depth examination of the available evidence published last month. And earlier this week, The New York Times acknowledged that the involvement of informants and agents had "muddled" the case:
"Big Dan" was no passive spectator: After initially alerting the authorities that he was involved in a Facebook group for militia members in which violence against police officers had been discussed, he agreed to become an informant. The government paid him $54,000 for six months' work. When the militia group surveilled Whitmer's vacation home, it was Big Dan leading the charge. According to the group's defense attorneys, Big Dan—an Iraq War veteran—took charge of training the other men in military tactics.
And that's not all: Big Dan's FBI handler, Jayson Chambers, had a side hustle. Chambers was attempting to build a security consulting business in the midst of the investigation; it's easy to see how his desire to create a brand for himself could have led him to encourage Big Dan to nudge the plot along. BuzzFeed obtained a resume that Chambers had shared with prospective clients, and in that document, he took credit for using "online undercover techniques" to investigate terrorist groups. According to BuzzFeed, Chambers has a long history of participating in FBI investigations of Muslim youths who were enticed by law enforcement to become involved in wholly theoretical violent plots, according to their defense attorneys.
"The FBI Investigation Into The Alleged Plot To Kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Has Gotten Very Complicated," conceded BuzzFeed News in an in-depth examination of the available evidence published last month. And earlier this week, The New York Times acknowledged that the involvement of informants and agents had "muddled" the case:
"Big Dan" was no passive spectator: After initially alerting the authorities that he was involved in a Facebook group for militia members in which violence against police officers had been discussed, he agreed to become an informant. The government paid him $54,000 for six months' work. When the militia group surveilled Whitmer's vacation home, it was Big Dan leading the charge. According to the group's defense attorneys, Big Dan—an Iraq War veteran—took charge of training the other men in military tactics.
And that's not all: Big Dan's FBI handler, Jayson Chambers, had a side hustle. Chambers was attempting to build a security consulting business in the midst of the investigation; it's easy to see how his desire to create a brand for himself could have led him to encourage Big Dan to nudge the plot along. BuzzFeed obtained a resume that Chambers had shared with prospective clients, and in that document, he took credit for using "online undercover techniques" to investigate terrorist groups. According to BuzzFeed, Chambers has a long history of participating in FBI investigations of Muslim youths who were enticed by law enforcement to become involved in wholly theoretical violent plots, according to their defense attorneys.
Outing FBI agents, a wayward informant, anti-government threat in dispute as Gov. Whitmer kidnap trial looms
Attorney Josh Blanchard, representing Barry Croft Jr., said he discovered that an FBI confidential human source known as “CHS Steve” signed a non-disclosure agreement that prevented the witness from talking to the defense.
The source, Stephen Robeson of Wisconsin, described as a “double agent,” had information that could help the defense, Blanchard said.
“This is particularly concerning because at the time the FBI had Mr. Robeson agree to remain quiet, they knew he had committed federal and state crimes during his cooperation in this case,” the attorney said. “The FBI had to know that the information they were asking CHS Steve to conceal was material to the defense.”
Blanchard asked that jurors be instructed about the non-disclosure agreement.
Judge delivers blow to undercover FBI agents in Whitmer kidnap case
To this day, the defendants in the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer don't know who "Mark" and "Red" really are.
The two undercover FBI agents infiltrated their group, pretending to be one of them, but their real names have been kept secret.
Not for long.
Over the objections of the government, a judge ruled on Thursday that the two FBI agents will have to use their real names when they testify in the upcoming Whitmer kidnap trial.
While the case was largely built in secrecy, with undercover informants and agents spying on the accused, the judge stressed that the trial will be open and transparent.
"Making it crystal clear to the jury and the public that inside the courtroom, nothing is undercover and everything is out in the open will best ensure fairness during trial and eventual acceptance and respect for whatever the jury ultimately decides," Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker wrote.
Under Jonker's ruling, the government will have to provide the names of the FBI witnesses to the defense one day before they testify.
Croft defense attorney Joshua Blanchard, who is arguing that the FBI entrapped his client, pushed Long about the message Thursday. The FBI agent said he gave the instructions to Plunk after a July 2020 meeting between numerous militia members in Peebles, Ohio.
Blanchard asked Long why the FBI sought to keep Croft in touch with a group of “violent” individuals. Blanchard suggested that letting Croft leave the group would decrease the risk of violence.
Long responded that allowing Croft to leave would make him harder to monitor and raise the likelihood of a “lone wolf attack.”
“The concern was that they were going to have a lone wolf attack, and we weren’t going to have access to specific individuals,” Long said. “The entire group was violent. Mr. Croft was violent, as well.”
Long went on to say that Croft was sensitive to being shut out, and if he left the group, Plunk would have trouble getting close to him again if she appeared to side with the rest of the group.
www.dailywire.com
Blanchard asked Long why the FBI sought to keep Croft in touch with a group of “violent” individuals. Blanchard suggested that letting Croft leave the group would decrease the risk of violence.
Long responded that allowing Croft to leave would make him harder to monitor and raise the likelihood of a “lone wolf attack.”
“The concern was that they were going to have a lone wolf attack, and we weren’t going to have access to specific individuals,” Long said. “The entire group was violent. Mr. Croft was violent, as well.”
Long went on to say that Croft was sensitive to being shut out, and if he left the group, Plunk would have trouble getting close to him again if she appeared to side with the rest of the group.
FBI Worked To Keep Alleged Conspiracist In ‘Violent’ Group Headed For Split
GRAND RAPIDS, MI. — FBI agent Christopher Long used an informant to keep together a “violent” group on the verge of breaking up while an alleged conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s governor was forming. Long interfered with the group to keep together a conspiracy that later implicated Barry Croft...
FBI Informant Instrumental In FBI Launching Investigation Into Conspiracy To Kidnap Whitmer Testifies
In March 2020, Chappel, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, joined the Michigan militia group Wolverine Watchmen while looking for a pro-2nd Amendment community with which he could practice firearms training. Once in the group, he discovered members of the militia making threats against law enforcement, which he reported to a friend who worked as a police officer. Chappel was contacted by the FBI and agreed to become an informant for the government a week later.
Chappel was paid during the course of his work for the FBI, though he said the money was far less than what he makes working for the U.S. Postal Service. The FBI also bought Chappel items such as a phone and laptop, and the government gave him some compensation when he said he was forced to move after a member of the Wolverine Watchmen found out where he lived.
Prosecutors played numerous recordings from Chappel’s time working as an informant for the FBI during court on Friday. Assistant U.S. attorney Nils Kessler spent roughly four hours questioning Chappel before court recessed for the day with still more clips to go through when trial resumes on Monday. Kessler said he expects Chappel’s testimony to be the longest of any government witness in the trial.
Jury Refuses To Convict Men Entrapped By FBI In Whitmer Kidnapping Plot
A jury refused on Friday to convict any of the four men standing trial for supposedly plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after strong evidence that the FBI tricked them into the plan.
After 20 days of trial, jurors determined that Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33, were not guilty of felony charges of conspiracy to “unlawfully seize, confine, kidnap, abduct and carry away, and hold for ransom and reward, or otherwise, the Governor of the State of Michigan.”
Jurors could not agree on the fates of Adam Fox, 38, and Barry Croft Jr., 46, so the men left the trial with no verdict and with the possibility of being brought to trial again.
Prosecutors representing the U.S. Department of Justice argued that the group of men were anti-government extremists who schemed to violently take down Whitmer for her role in promoting Covid-19 tyranny in Michigan. They exchanged lighter prison sentences for testimony from two other men found guilty of participating in the Whitmer kidnapping racket, helping absolve the government of any blame in the case.
Then we have the idiotic plot to kidnap an elected official who has done a crap job, which now looks like it was helped along with FBI plants, and considered by those who watched a bit too many “Road Runner” cartoons and “Batman” (the original T.V. series) episodes as kids.
Saying “campy” to describe this plot does not do this justice.
From Bonchie yesterday: Massive Blow to the FBI After Gretchen Whitmer Kidnapping Verdict Drops…
Now I have zero doubt that there are a lot of people in this state who absolutely felt their backs were up against the wall, with dictates from a governor who had no idea why she was doing the things she was doing during the pandemic. I know if her Democratic colleagues like former New York Governor, Andrew “Roaming Hands” Cuomo, and California Governor Gavin “Hair Gel” Newsom did something, Michigan would follow within days. Whitmer was more than happy to follow rather than lead, and as we are seeing, none of this was based on science or data.
I also have no doubt that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, over a yet-to-be-determined amount of time, has become incredibly politicized. As Bonchie writes in his piece above, anyone thinking that the FBI is totally on the up-and-up needs to do a little bit more digging. Everything in Washington, D.C., right now has the stench of partisan politics all over it — and it looks like it has for decades.
Saying “campy” to describe this plot does not do this justice.
From Bonchie yesterday: Massive Blow to the FBI After Gretchen Whitmer Kidnapping Verdict Drops…
Now I have zero doubt that there are a lot of people in this state who absolutely felt their backs were up against the wall, with dictates from a governor who had no idea why she was doing the things she was doing during the pandemic. I know if her Democratic colleagues like former New York Governor, Andrew “Roaming Hands” Cuomo, and California Governor Gavin “Hair Gel” Newsom did something, Michigan would follow within days. Whitmer was more than happy to follow rather than lead, and as we are seeing, none of this was based on science or data.
I also have no doubt that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, over a yet-to-be-determined amount of time, has become incredibly politicized. As Bonchie writes in his piece above, anyone thinking that the FBI is totally on the up-and-up needs to do a little bit more digging. Everything in Washington, D.C., right now has the stench of partisan politics all over it — and it looks like it has for decades.
How the FBI Got Whacked By Their Own Boomerang in the Gretchen Whitmer Kidnapping Case
This is a massive scandal. I know I’m being generous here after the Russian collusion hoax, but whatever crumb of credibility the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice has now been lost. The Gretchen Whitmer circus has finally come down. It’s been exposed. This case was weaponized by Democrats for the 2020 election to attack Donald Trump over an alleged kidnapping plot against Whitmer over her COVID-19 protocols. Members of a militia group were supposedly involved.
What was seen as a slam-dunk case by the Feds turned out to be an embarrassing exposure of their entrapment games that netted them zero convictions in this case. Zilch. Two men were outright found not guilty by a federal jury. The rest were deadlocked. It’s over, and if the FBI wants to rehash all their embarrassing moments in this case—be our guest.
The Entire Gretchen Whitmer “Kidnapping” Case Was Exposed As A Fraud – A Full Recap
Problems with the paid informants also began to surface. Stephen Robeson was dropped from the witness list because he had since been charged with committing additional crimes during the investigation.
Another informant, Dan Chappel, did testify. However, it was learned that rather than being a passive observer, he had actually worked to recruit participants for the conspiracy, planned many of the group’s activities, and was paid over $60,000 by the FBI for his efforts. He also sent Adam Fox over 1,000 texts between June and October to keep him engaged in the group’s activities. He was egging him on. Doesn’t the left refer to that as inciting violence? Or is it only incitement if done by Trump supporters?
Kaleb Franks and Ty Garbin cut deals and plead guilty to lesser charges to avoid trial. The cases for Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta, Adam Fox, and Barry Croft, Jr. all went to trial. All four were represented by public defenders, as they lacked the means to hire private attorneys.
Whitmer Hoax Defendant: ‘My Life Got Taken Away From Me’
In June, a leader of the Wolverine Watchmen, a mostly online “militia” group allegedly at the center of the kidnapping plot, invited Caserta to attend firearms training in Munith, Michigan. It was there, for the first time, Caserta met a few of his future co-defendants and a man known to the group as “Big Dan.” A self-described Iraq War combat veteran, “Big Dan” offered to share his knowledge of firearms.
But “Big Dan” was hiding a secret: he had been hired in March 2020 as an informant for the FBI.
“I walked into a terrorism enterprise investigation without my knowledge,” Caserta said. One FBI agent later testified that the agency had designated the operation as a “TEI,” which involved numerous FBI field offices and expensive surveillance equipment such as drones and airplanes, and required approval at the highest levels of the FBI and Department of Justice.
The operation also included at least a dozen FBI confidential human sources (CHS) and undercover agents. “Big Dan,” whose real name is Dan Chappel, was the lead informant and was compensated at least $60,000—as well as given a new laptop, smart watch, and tires for his car—by the FBI to coordinate the plot from start to finish.
Without Chappel, the random group never would have met let alone dreamed up a far-fetched plan to kill Whitmer’s security detail and abduct her from an isolated cottage. In fact, in a text message with Chappel in August 2020, his FBI handler commended Chappel for “bringing people together.” Chappel created at least two encrypted group chats to connect his targets; both chats were named “**** Around and Find Out.”
According to defense attorneys, Chappel and another informant, a convicted felon named Steven Robeson, coordinated every event while recording conversations later used as evidence against their clients.
“The government’s agents actively planned and coordinated its efforts to induce the defendants to engage in incriminating behavior and statements, even going so far as designing the objective and structural components of the conspiracy alleged in the indictment,” one attorney wrote in a 2021 filing.
A different attorney described the recorded conversations as “stoned crazy talk,” since many of the meetings involved the use of alcohol and marijuana. The FBI assets exploited the men’s outrage over sustained lockdowns in Michigan and riots in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, which prompted heightened interest in gun rights among the group.
“Dan ran the training every time,” Caserta said. “It was their idea to do many of the things we did. They took unconnected people [and] created events to make it seem legitimate then recorded conversations to make it look like there was some sort of connection between all of us.”
Rep. Dan Bishop thread details MANY questions for the FBI/DOJ about ‘alleged plot to kidnap the Mich. governor’
Back in April a jury acquitted two defendants of conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 but couldn’t agree on a verdict for two others:
Republican Congressman Dan Bishop of North Carolina has a thread today in which he raising many concerns about how that played out when it comes to the FBI’s actions.