GRAND RAPIDS, MI – In prison for plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Ty Garbin recalled first meeting Adam Fox at a Second Amendment rally.
Fox told him he wanted to try Whitmer for treason. Then, he said he wanted to “hang her on public TV for the world to see,” Garbin testified Tuesday, Aug. 16.
Fox, 38, of Wyoming, Michigan, and Barry Croft, 46, of Bear, Delaware, are on trial in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, charged with conspiracy to kidnap and use of a weapon of mass destruction, both potential life offenses.
A jury in April could not reach a verdict in their cases but acquitted two others.
Garbin, 26, of Livingston County, and Kaleb Franks, 27, of Waterford, took plea deals and agreed to testify against others.
Garbin, who was an aircraft mechanic working at Detroit Metro Airport, is serving six years, three months in federal prison but hopes for a reduction based on his cooperation. The cooperation has put Garbin and his family at risk, he said.
Garbin was a leader in the Wolverine Watchmen, a Michigan militia. He told the jury that he met Fox at a June 18 Second Amendment rally at the state Capitol in Lansing. Fox talked about kidnapping Whitmer and trying her for treason, Garbin testified.
He said he later met Croft, an anti-government activist. Croft talked about firebombing Michigan State Police patrol cars and simultaneous shootings of governors in Michigan and nearby states to sow chaos, Garbin said.
Garbin is to return to the witness stand on Wednesday, followed by Franks, who awaits sentencing in October.
Both could be called to testify in state court cases related to the alleged abduction plot. Eight face state charges.
Brandon Caserta, 34, of Canton, Michigan, who was acquitted with Daniel Harris, 24, of Lake Orion, at the earlier trial, told U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker on Tuesday that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination and refuse to testify.
Other potential witnesses are expected to do the same.
Dan Chappel, an undercover informant, testified over the course of two days.
During his testimony, Chappel said he believed he played a role in a spring 2020 rally at the state Capitol Building in which armed protesters entered the building. Chappel said he told the FBI that protests could turn violent. He said the FBI talked with Michigan State Police.
“I let the FBI know that there was talk of storming the Capitol,” he testified. He said that armed protesters were let in to “de-escalate” the situation.
Chappel is a key prosecution witness against Croft and Fox and others who are facing charges in state courts.
He had served as a U.S. Army sergeant, wounded in Iraq, and was working as a contract truck driver for the U.S Postal Service when he joined the Wolverine Watchmen through a Facebook link.
He said he called a friend, a police officer, shortly after online discussions turned to killing law-enforcement officers. He then became an informant for the FBI and quickly became a trusted member of the militia and was designated an executive officer.
Attorney Josh Blanchard, representing Croft, and Christopher Gibbons, Fox’s attorney, contend Chappel, the FBI and its other informants pushed the defendants into the alleged conspiracy.
For instance, in night reconnaissance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Northern Michigan home, Croft sat in the backseat of a pickup truck, joined by Chappel, who was driving, and two FBI informants.
Blanchard contends that episode showed how authorities directed the planning for a plot to kidnap the governor.
The defense attorneys also pointed out that Chappel was paid $54,000. Chappel said he missed long stretches of work and that a lot of the money only covered costs he incurred during the investigation.
He also said he was forced to relocate once his address became known by others tried to the alleged plot.
He said he never asked for money.
“I wanted to protect lives,” Chappel said. “That’s why I stayed in the group. … I was asked to do this. … I never expected anything … .”
He said that the investigation – keeping in frequent contact with alleged conspirators and FBI handlers – took much of his time. He used hidden recorders and wires to transmit conversations to investigators.
He did not know in the beginning what he was getting himself in to.
“I never thought I’d be here today,” he said.
Chappel attended meetings and field training exercises and went on trips to find Whitmer’s lakeside home in Elk Rapids. The FBI could track the case in real time. Chappel was among a dozen informants. Two FBI special agents had also infiltrated the group.
Related:
Alleged leader of Gov. Whitmer kidnap case excited driving past her home, recording shows
FBI says defendants in Gov. Whitmer kidnap case posed threat; defense raises concern about juror
Suspect in secret recording played at trial suggested killing Gov. Whitmer’s security detail
Defendant in Gov. Whitmer kidnap case wanted to ‘build an army,’ jury told
Retrial of 2 suspects in alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer ready to begin
Defense attorney says Gov. Whitmer was ‘never in any real danger’
Gov. Whitmer says details ‘jarring’ from trial of men charged with conspiring to kidnap her
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