We know that Donald Trump cannot bear to say anything negative about white supremacists, white militia groups, QAnon crazies, and all the other flotsam and jetsam that can be found in the fever swamps of right wing extremism in the US who see in him the leader they have longed for. So it will be interesting to see his response to the reported plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan and attack the state capital building. (Back in May, Trump was calling on people to “Liberate Michigan” (presumably from their despotic governor who was mandated mask wearing) and spoke of the heavily armed Michigan militia members as ‘very good people’. It was after that episode that this plot apparently started gaining steam.)

Six people have been been charged with plotting to kidnap the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, that involves links to a rightwing militia group, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced.

Additionally another seven people were charged with plotting to target law enforcement and attack the state capitol building. The state attorney general, Dana Nessel, announced additional charges under Michigan’s anti-terrorism law. Seven men, all in custody, are linked to the militia group Wolverine Watchmen.

They are suspected of attempting to identify the homes of law enforcement officers to “target them, made threats of violence intended to instigate a civil war”. They also planned and trained for an operation to attack the Michigan capitol building and to kidnap government officials, including the governor, Nessel said.

Wait, Wolverine Watchmen is the name this group? If that is any indication, these may be be cosplayers who decided that the comic books that inspire them did not provide them with enough excitement in their lives and decided to carry out their fantasies in the real world.

“Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” an FBI agent wrote in the document. “The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.”
…

“The group talked about creating a society that followed the US Bill of Rights and where they could be self-sufficient,” the affidavit said. “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 US constitution, including the government of Michigan and Governor Gretchen Whitmer.”

Through electronic communications, two of the alleged conspirators then “agreed to unite others in their cause and take violent action against multiple state governments that they believe are violating the US constitution”, the FBI said.

One of the alleged conspirators, Adam Fox, said he needed 200 men to storm the capitol building in Lansing and take hostages, including the governor, according to the FBI. He said he wanted to try Whitmer for “treason” and would execute the plan before the 3 November election, the government said.

Yep, these people are definitely living in a comic-book world. What did they think would happen if by some miracle they did manage to kidnap Whitman? Did they not realize that despite having Trump’s support, the federal government would feel obliged to go after them with massive force?