DETROIT — The prosecution next month of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be a multimedia production with testimony from four dozen witnesses, a replica bomb built by the FBI, virtual recreations of key locations, including a secret training camp, and a discrete plan to compensate for scandals engulfing the case.
Federal prosecutors sketched a broad trial outline in a court filing Thursday that provided a detailed view of a closely watched case that has shed light on violent extremism in Michigan. The case has coincided with a rise in political violence that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Prosecutors plan to call as many as 48 witnesses, including two undercover FBI special agents, at least one informant and convicted plotters Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks. Another dozen civilians with knowledge of the kidnapping plot also will testify.
