The FBI says it is investigating alleged death threats made in connection with the ongoing trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. FBI spokesperson Mara Schneider says a Detroit-area home was raided last week over alleged threats to trial participants including the judge and two defense lawyers, the Detroit Free Press reports. Schneider says threats were also reportedly received by Steve Robeson, a former FBI informant prosecutors describe as a "double agent" who warned alleged plotters about their impending arrests and helped destroy evidence.
The four men now on trial—Daniel Harris, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., and Brandon Caserta—are among 14 people who allegedly plotted to kidnap the Democratic governor in 2020 because they opposed COVID restrictions. Ty Garbin and Kaleb Frank pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution, which rested its case Wednesday, the AP reports. Robeson and several other defense witnesses invoked the Fifth Amendment and said they wouldn't testify.
Defense lawyers, who accuse the FBI of entrapment, asked the judge to compel Roberson's testimony, saying that for some of the men, he was the only link to the alleged plot, MLive.com reports. "Robeson would take defendants to riots and protests in an effort to get them worked up; then, using the recording device provided by the FBI, he would record them reacting to the situation in a state of anger," lawyers for two of the suspect wrote in a court filing. (More Michigan stories.)
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