Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer fell into the eyes of extremists after a public quarrel with Donald Trump.
Speaking at a press conference, Whitmer accused the President of inciting political extremism, referring to his comments during the presidential debate with Joe Biden. In this regard, she recalled Trump’s refusal to condemn members of the radical right wing group Proud Boys.
“When our leaders meet, encourage and make friends with internal terrorists, they legitimise their actions and are accomplices”, – Whitmer said.
Trump responded by calling her ungrateful, tweeting that the Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies “have prevented a dangerous plot against Governor of Michigan.”
The fact is that the American extremist group Wolverine Watchmen planned to storm the state legislature and kidnap the local governor. According to the prosecutor’s office, the conspirators planned to recruit 200 fighters for their operation and also discussed blowing up a bridge as a distraction.
Law enforcers detained 13 people responsible for the conspiracy. Six of them could end up in prison.
Biden has already commented on the situation. The presidential candidate immediately put the responsibility on Trump, as the White House head “encourages bigotry and hatred”. However, according to Reuters, the FBI was already aware at the beginning of the year that some extremist groups were planning to “forcibly overthrow” the governments of individual states.
Wolverine Watchmen, in particular, has been recruiting radicals since November 2019 and has been training with firearms in preparation for the uprising and civil war. Extremists also collected information about members of the security forces in order to threaten to kill them. They planned to kidnap the Governor of Michigan before the presidential election in order to “bring a trial for treason”.