Michigan governor kidnap case: hardened terrorists or FBI dupes?

Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s governor, was the target of rightwing ire for her Covid restrictions – but also, perhaps, for being a woman and a Democrat. Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

Four members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan group that the government accuses of plotting to kidnap and kill Governor Gretchen Whitmer, are – depending on whom you believe – members of a dangerous paramilitary or a group of big-talking good ole boys full of hot air.

Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr and Daniel Harris were charged in October 2020 with conspiring to abduct Whitmer from her northern Michigan vacation house. Their motive, say prosecutors in Grand Rapids, was anger over the Democrat’s Covid-19 restrictions and their plan has become a symbol of rising far-right violence and the threat it represents to US democracy.