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hey, no big deal, fbi busts attempt to kidnap michigan gov and overthrow the government


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https://www.thedailybeast.com/ty-garbin-michigan-militiaman-who-planned-to-kidnap-gretchen-whitmer-pleads-guilty-and-turns-on-his-pals

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Ty Garbin, 25, has agreed to cooperate with agencies investigating the wild plot to overthrow the Michigan government and execute the governor for treason.

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According to the plea agreement, Garbin has agreed to “fully cooperate” with the federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies.

During a Wednesday hearing, U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker stressed to Garbin that, as part of the agreement, he may be “called to the courtroom and obligated to tell the truth… even if it ends up hurting people you know. Do you think you could do that?” 

“I could, your honor,” Garbin replied.

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The 25-year-old has also agreed to take a polygraph test and testify against his co-conspirators. Garbin is among six men—along with Adam Fox, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta, and Barry Croft—federally charged in October with conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Is anybody surprised that these guys would rat each other out?  Not quite as tough and prepared as they thought they were.

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Adding to the Finding Out folder:

Man gets 6 years in prison in Michigan governor kidnap plot

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A man upset over state-ordered coronavirus restrictions was sentenced to just over six years in prison Wednesday for planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a significant break that reflected his quick decision to cooperate and help agents build cases against others. 

Ty Garbin admitted his role in the alleged scheme weeks after his arrest last fall. He is among six men charged in federal court but the only one to plead guilty so far. It was a key victory for prosecutors as they try to prove an astonishing plot against the rest.

Garbin apologized to Whitmer, who was not in court, and her family.
 

“I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of stress and fear her family felt because of my actions. And for that I am truly sorry,” the 25-year-old aviation mechanic told the judge.

In his plea agreement, Garbin said the six men trained at his property near Luther, Michigan, constructing a “shoot house” to resemble Whitmer’s vacation home and “assaulting it with firearms.”

The government, noting Garbin’s exceptional cooperation, asked U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to give him credit for helping investigators reinforce their case against his co-defendants. 

The “Constitution is designed to ensure that we work out our fundamental and different views peacefully, not at the point of a gun, not with some other blunt force threat or a kidnapping conspiracy,” the judge said.

Prosecutors recommended a nine-year prison term. But Jonker went shorter, at 6 1/4 years, saying he was convinced that Garbin was an “excellent prospect” to stay out of trouble when released from prison.

The government and Garbin’s lawyers took turns praising his willingness to admit guilt even before investigators revealed all the evidence following his arrest.

Garbin “didn’t hold back,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said. “He would come out and say, ‘We planned to do this and I was knowingly a part of it.’ He sat for hours answering all of our questions.”

Indeed, defense attorney Gary Springstead told the judge that Garbin “is going to be a star witness” against the others.

“Ty Garbin testified in front of the grand jury in support of the indictment that got him indicted. He is truly, genuinely and sincerely sorry,” said Mark Satawa, another defense lawyer.

When the kidnapping case was filed in October, Whitmer, a Democrat, pinned some blame on then-President Donald Trump, saying his refusal to denounce far-right groups had inspired extremists across the U.S. It added even more heat to the final weeks of a tumultuous election season.

Whitmer wrote a victim impact statement to the judge, saying, “things will never be the same.”

“Threats continue,” she said in June. “I have looked out my windows and seen large groups of heavily armed people within 30 yards of my home. I have seen myself hung in effigy. Days ago at a demonstration there was a sign that called for ‘burning the witch.’”

Last year, Whitmer put major restrictions on personal movement and the economy because of COVID-19, although many limits have since been lifted. The Michigan Capitol was the site of rallies, including ones with gun-toting protesters calling for the governor’s removal.

“The plots and threats against me, no matter how disturbing, could not deter me from doing everything I could to save as many lives as possible by listening to medical and health experts,” Whitmer said. “To me it is very simple: this had to be the priority.”

Six years. Well, alright.
 

https://apnews.com/article/michigan-gretchen-whitmer-grand-rapids-c502551bd6fa4af0a8706d0b9653e653

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Second Whitmer kidnap plotter to plead guilty, court records show

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A second member of an alleged plot to kidnap and hurt Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has agreed to plead guilty, giving federal prosecutors two key insiders to fight defense claims of entrapment during next month's trial, according to a federal court filing Monday.

Waterford Township resident Kaleb Franks, 27, will plead guilty to kidnapping conspiracy, which is punishable by up to life in federal prison, according to a plea deal filed in court Monday that reveals new details about how accused plotters focused their attention on Michigan's governor.

Franks was scheduled to stand trial March 8 in federal court in Grand Rapids alongside four others. A sixth man, Ty Garbin, pleaded guilty last year and is serving a six-year prison sentence.

The deal, which requires Franks to cooperate with federal investigators and testify, includes a section aimed at fighting an expected entrapment defense during next month's trial. The section describes how Franks learned after he was arrested in October 2020 that the FBI used undercover agents and as many as a dozen informants.

“The defendant was not entrapped or induced to commit any crimes by these individuals,” the plea deal reads.

The four scheduled to stand trial are: Potterville resident Adam Fox, Delaware truck driver Barry Croft, Lake Orion resident Daniel Harris and Canton Township resident Brandon Caserta. Eight others are facing state charges.

“The defendant also knows Fox, Croft, Harris and Caserta were not entrapped, based on personal observation and discussions," the plea deal reads.

For example, the group's alleged ringleaders, Fox and Croft, initiated discussions about kidnapping Whitmer, prosecutors wrote.

The section appears aimed at proving the defendants were predisposed to committing the crime, a requirement needed in order to secure convictions at trial.

“The defendant also heard Harris and Caserta express similar anti-government sentiments during his private discussions with them, when no government informant was present,” the plea deal reads. “During all their months of training together, the defendant never heard Fox, Croft, Harris, or Caserta say they were doing anything because (informant) Dan, (informant) Steve, or any other informant had advocated it.”

 

edit: full plea agreement here (link)

Edited by Captainant
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On 8/25/2021 at 5:10 PM, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

only 6 years for trying to kidnap and kill a sitting governor? that might entice more of this shit

yeah, didn't a black woman in Memphis just get six years for misleading her parole officer into signing a form that would allow her to vote from now on?  

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I don't get the Owen Wilson thing?  I used Frank Stallone a handful of times after Norm died because Norm meant a lot to me.  I never met him, but we had many dear friends in common.  I think over 6 years of posting on here, I made two wisecracks at Owen's expense because I just don't get why people think he's funny.  

Dammit Brisket, this is why we can't have nice things.  Just for this, breakfast is on you!  I'll hand off a client to you in exchange.  Don't tell them though, would be unethical.

Speaking of Norm---two of his favorites, David Spade and Dana Carvey are coming to Austin next month to do a show together.  Not sure how it'll shake out.  But if you wanna have drinks with 'em afterwards, lemme know.  But be cool this time!  Don't do that weird schtick of yours.

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I don't get the Owen Wilson thing?  I used Frank Stallone a handful of times after Norm died because Norm meant a lot to me.  I never met him, but we had many dear friends in common.  I think over 6 years of posting on here, I made two wisecracks at Owen's expense because I just don't get why people think he's funny.  
Dammit Brisket, this is why we can't have nice things.  Just for this, breakfast is on you!  I'll hand off a client to you in exchange.  Don't tell them though, would be unethical.
Speaking of Norm---two of his favorites, David Spade and Dana Carvey are coming to Austin next month to do a show together.  Not sure how it'll shake out.  But if you wanna have drinks with 'em afterwards, lemme know.  But be cool this time!  Don't do that weird schtick of yours.

It’s not a schtick. My nuts really do itch that badly.
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13 hours ago, Lobo said:

Speaking of Norm---two of his favorites, David Spade and Dana Carvey are coming to Austin next month to do a show together.  Not sure how it'll shake out.  But if you wanna have drinks with 'em afterwards, lemme know.  But be cool this time!  Don't do that weird schtick of yours.

Their podcast is pretty funny. Love the old SNL stories.

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11 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

I didn't really follow the ins and outs of the case. Gut reaction - this is going to just embolden these types going forward. Not great. 

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/04/08/jury-whitmer-kidnap-plot-jury-verdict/9510806002/

It will.  We're going to get more of this.  A lot more.  And some of them will suceed.

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22 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

I didn't really follow the ins and outs of the case. Gut reaction - this is going to just embolden these types going forward. Not great. 

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/04/08/jury-whitmer-kidnap-plot-jury-verdict/9510806002/

Historically speaking, we're on a 10 year ticking clock after a first failed insurrection. Every day only deepens the cancer in our democracy. And we just hit our insurance lifetime max benefit.

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Interesting that the FBI was waiting in handcuffs.

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An undercover informant had driven the suspects to the warehouse,  tricking them into thinking they were going there to make a down payment on explosives, pick up some military gear, and then head to Buffalo Wild Wings for beer and chicken.

Instead, FBI agents were there waiting in handcuffs.  

 

Edited by TexasEd
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49 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

I didn't really follow the ins and outs of the case. Gut reaction - this is going to just embolden these types going forward. Not great. 

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/04/08/jury-whitmer-kidnap-plot-jury-verdict/9510806002/

The next Timothy McVeigh is out there and he’s making plans. 

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Pretty good summary here. 
 

 

“Whether they crossed the sharply defined line into entrapment is a matter of legal definitions. But the tactics employed by the FBI to develop its case against the defendants — despite the Justice Department’s best efforts to keep those tactics secret — conform to a growing popular conception of government overreach.

Manipulating people into committing crimes is “unacceptable in America,” Blanchard said in closing arguments carefully calibrated to press that hot button. “That’s not how it works. We don’t make terrorists so we can arrest them.”

Blanchard was mistaken. Using swarms of informants to push suspected radicals toward violence is in fact exactly how it works: The FBI has been doing it for at least half a century, from the Black Panthers in the 1970s to Muslim groups in the wake of 9/11. But because the targets in this case were conservative white men, those tactics touched a nerve with a swath of the population that had never seriously considered the issue before.”

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So wait, you mean to tell me Chris Hanson was wrong to lure pedophiles into homes where they thought there was a 12 year old to rape? We should wait until they actually rape some helpless child first before booking them? That doesn't sound like a very good plan.

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8 hours ago, TexasEd said:

Interesting that the FBI was waiting in handcuffs.

 

That's the thing about creating a dumber America.  They will be limited by their ignorance.  Insurrection?  Depends on the traitors. The smart ones will lead from behind and try to distance themselves.  The assailants will be the doorknobs that mostly can't think for themselves.  

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56 minutes ago, Dutchrudder said:

So wait, you mean to tell me Chris Hanson was wrong to lure pedophiles into homes where they thought there was a 12 year old to rape? We should wait until they actually rape some helpless child first before booking them? That doesn't sound like a very good plan.

Well yeah, they want to be able to vote for their congressperson of choice

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This is ultimately what the briskets of the world have been warning us of.  Jury trials are now a problem when it comes to anything with a political slant. Or, in this case, a planned violent overthrow of a government.
 

You get a single magat on a jury and justice doesn’t get served.  There are literally millions of them. The odds of not getting a magat on a jury are…not good. 

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18 minutes ago, Fletch said:

And half the country is gonna cheer that shit on

The same ones who had no problem with Trump’s attempted coup on 1/6/21 but who were very bothered by some vandalism committed during mostly peaceful protests after the murder of George Floyd. Those are the same people who were sympathetic with McVeigh and thought it was government overreach to go after a pedophile cult leader and his illegal guns in Waco. (Kind of shows you that they really don’t have a problem with pedophiles and cultists. Every accusation...)

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5 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

This is ultimately what the briskets of the world have been warning us of.  Jury trials are now a problem when it comes to anything with a political slant. Or, in this case, a planned violent overthrow of a government.
 

You get a single magat on a jury and justice doesn’t get served.  There are literally millions of them. The odds of not getting a magat on a jury are…not good. 

I guess there were 12 magats on this one?

I have not followed this at all. I actually assumed the people blaming the fbi were full of shit. I guess they weren’t.
 

Just another sign of institutional trust falling apart. FBI is not trusted. 
 

53 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

He’s actually right about this part. 
 

Appears that the FBI agents involved shit the bed on this one. 

The head of the Detroit office that oversaw this operation got promoted to chief of DC office and is now in charge of the 1/06 investigation. 

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15 hours ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

Pretty good summary here. 
 

 

“Whether they crossed the sharply defined line into entrapment is a matter of legal definitions. But the tactics employed by the FBI to develop its case against the defendants — despite the Justice Department’s best efforts to keep those tactics secret — conform to a growing popular conception of government overreach.

Manipulating people into committing crimes is “unacceptable in America,” Blanchard said in closing arguments carefully calibrated to press that hot button. “That’s not how it works. We don’t make terrorists so we can arrest them.”

Blanchard was mistaken. Using swarms of informants to push suspected radicals toward violence is in fact exactly how it works: The FBI has been doing it for at least half a century, from the Black Panthers in the 1970s to Muslim groups in the wake of 9/11. But because the targets in this case were conservative white men, those tactics touched a nerve with a swath of the population that had never seriously considered the issue before.”

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 Fox, the lawyers noted, was so hapless he lived in the basement of a vacuum cleaner store and was forced to go to the Mexican restaurant next door when he needed to use the bathroom. Croft, for his part, ranted about shooting down airships, cutting down every tree on the border between Ohio and Michigan, and setting off electromagnetic pulse weapons….

These attorneys argued “our clients are angry, failed white men that fantasize about mass violence” and it was part of their DEFENSE to terrorism conspiracy charges. 

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Straight up imagine if some guy named Ahmad Khan got arrested trying to buy explosives from the FBI.  And his lawyer rolls into court and says:

”My client can’t hold a job and lives in a miserable basement apartment that doesn’t have a toilet.  He spends a lot of time online talking about how much he hates America and his detailed fantasies of carrying out a WMD attack. Does that really sound like someone who could carry out a terrorist attack?”

 

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1 hour ago, Immaculate Vibes said:

I guess there were 12 magats on this one?

I have not followed this at all. I actually assumed the people blaming the fbi were full of shit. I guess they weren’t.
 

Just another sign of institutional trust falling apart. FBI is not trusted. 
 

The head of the Detroit office that oversaw this operation got promoted to chief of DC office and is now in charge of the 1/06 investigation. 

So we’re only backing the blue when they’re beating and killing minorities?  When they catch white guys trying to do bad shit it’s entrapment and they can’t be trusted?

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3 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

So we’re only backing the blue when they’re beating and killing minorities?  When they catch white guys trying to do bad shit it’s entrapment and they can’t be trusted?

You have the wrong guy. I’m generally not a fan of the police, especially the Feds. 

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9 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

*whomever

:)

“Whoever” is correct. It’s the subject of the dependent clause not object of the preposition 

 

WRT this verdict I would hate to sit on one of these juries. Obviously these are shitty people. They wanted to do horrific crimes, but would they have been able to do these particular crimes without encouragement from the fbi? If fbi just passively watches them and then tries to intervene last minute and fails you have a tragedy. Better to blow up the plot and lose at trial than the alternative imo. Maybe they get the ringleaders in the next trial. 
 

all these guys should have agents up their asses the rest of their lives though

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