The case seemed like a lock — until an informant and one FBI agent were charged with crimes, another was accused of perjury, and a third was found promoting a private security firm. And that wasn’t all.
The upcoming trial of the Whitmer kidnapping case of October 8, 2020, is fraught with problems and sleazy unethical FBI tactics. At the time it was uncovered, it was hailed as a grand performance by the FBI in shutting down a domestic terrorism plot.
The trial of the ‘terrorists’ will now be significantly affected by tactics used by the FBI.
BuzzFeed reported on this case several times and exposed the FBI’s duplicity and deep involvement in planning, organizing, and implementing the plot.
There were more FBI agents and informers than plotters involved.
The Agents and Informers
One FBI agent, who had served as the case’s public face, was charged with beating his wife when they returned home from a swingers party. He was fired soon thereafter.
Another agent was accused of perjury.
A state prosecutor in a related case was reassigned and then retired in the face of an audit into his prior use of informants.
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An informant whose work was crucial to the investigation was indicted on a gun charge and is now under investigation for fraud. Interviews, court records, and other documents reveal repeated instances of apparent lawbreaking by Stephen Robeson, who, while working with the government, identified and recruited potential targets in multiple states and who organized many of the events where prosecutors say the alleged kidnapping plan was hatched. Robeson’s apparent crimes took place under the nose of his FBI handlers.
One FBI agent, Jayson Chambers, who was trying to beef up his private security business based on the case, won’t even be called by the prosecution.
A Twitter account linked to Chambers’ business appeared on at least two occasions to be privy to the workings of Chambers’ ongoing FBI investigations before they were made public and to have tweeted about the Michigan case before arrests were made.
The defense lawyers will bring this and more out to show entrapment. The attorneys say the crime would never have come about except for the aggressive involvement of the FBI to make it happen.
Fourteen men are charged in three separate courts.
Six people — Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Daniel Harris, Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, and Kaleb Franks — were indicted by a federal grand jury for kidnapping conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of life.
Garbin agreed to turn states’ evidence.
Eight more people were charged in Jackson and Antrim county courts with providing material support to terrorism, in cases being prosecuted by the Michigan attorney general.
Some of the men were members of a militia called the Wolverines.
On Monday a Michigan state judge will hold a hearing on a motion filed by three of them who claim they were the victims of entrapment.
THERE’S A LOT MORE. JULY – AUGUST 2021
In July, the men who are accused of attempting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) are saying the FBI set them up, according to court filings, evidence, and dozens of interviews seen by BuzzFeed News.
One of the 12 FBI informants rose to second in command of the group and paid for travel for members of the kidnapping plot to meet together. He also told members to work together and helped the person in charge advance the plan.
The 12 informants were involved in planning, funding, and execution, according to the defense, reports BuzzFeed News.
In August 2021, defense attorneys revealed evidence that the 12 FBI informants pushed and encouraged the men to commit the crime.
“The government has documented at least 12 confidential informants who assisted the sprawling investigation. The trove of evidence they helped gather provides an unprecedented view into American extremism, laying out in often stunning detail the ways that anti-government groups network with each other and, in some cases, discuss violent actions.
“Working in secret, they did more than just passively observe and report on the actions of the suspects. Instead, they had a hand in nearly every aspect of the alleged plot, starting with its inception. The extent of their involvement raises questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them.”
“The attorney for one of six men — Brandon Caserta — indicted in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday, Aug. 13 that an FBI special agent told an informant to lie and to delete text messages between them.
It is important to note that the FBI is trying to find white domestic terrorists. In addition, they want to destroy all militias as they move to take away our gun rights.
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