Kent County Jail
Accused Whitmer plot ringleader Adam Fox, 37, of Potterville.
Six men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were indicted by a federal grand jury late Wednesday, paving the way for a criminal trial.
The suspects face up to life in prison on one count of kidnapping conspiracy.
A trial date has not yet been set.
The indictment sheds more light on the case. One of the suspects, Brandon Caserta, 32, of Canton Township, instructed his co-conspirators in an encrypted video message that “if they encountered police during reconnaissance, they should give the officers one opportunity to leave, and kill them if they did not comply,” according to a court filing obtained by The Detroit News.
The other indicted men are Adam Fox, 37, of Potterville; Ty Garbin, 25, of Hartland Township; Kaleb Franks, 26, of Waterford Township; Daniel Harris, 23, of Lake Orion; and Barry Croft, 44, of Delaware. An additional six suspects in the kidnapping plot were charged in state court.
According to new filings, investigators raided sites in multiple states, including a firing range in northern Michigan and homes in metro Detroit.
Federal prosecutors were considering filing terrorism charges against the six men after investigators revealed finding bomb parts and other new evidence. Prosecutors can still file additional charges in the case.
Prosecutors said they have a lot of evidence to examine, including more than 13,000 pages of encrypted text messages, hundreds of hours of undercover audio recordings, and “voluminous” amounts of audio and video found on seized computers and cellphones.
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