Heavily armed militia members and other protesters gathered at the Michigan State Capitol in May 2020 demanding that the mask mandate be ended and the coronavirus quarantine be halted. It was during that protest that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said that she would not negotiate with terrorists.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump was tweeting "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and praising them as "very good people" who were simply "angry."
According to the court documents it was directly after that the militia members began building a larger group to help with a plot against the Michigan governor and the violent overthrow of the state capitol.
"On June 6, 2020, CROFT, FOX and approximately 13 other people from several states gathered in Dublin, Ohio. CHS-1 was present at this meeting. The group talked about creating a society that followed the U.S. Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient. They discussed different ways of achieving this goal from peaceful endeavors to violent actions. At one point, several members talked about state governments they believed were violating the U.S. Constitution, including the government of Michigan and Governor Gretchen Whitmer," said the court documents.
It was in that month that the group began to build their plot and coordinate with other militias.
It's unknown if the president or Attorney General Bill Barr were briefed on the plot or the FBI investigation. Neither have commented on the arrests.
Six of the men were taken into custody after a raid in suburban Detroit Thursday morning. They were Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta and 24-year-old Ty Garbin.
An additional seven men affiliated with a militia known as Wolverine Watchmen were also arrested. They are: Paul Bellar, 21, Shawn Fix, 38, Eric Molitor, 36, Michael Null, 38, William Null, 38, Pete Musico, 42, and Joseph Morrison, 42, cited the DailyMail.