I can’t imagine why anyone in Michigan would think it was okay to plan a terroristic kidnapping and execution of the state governor?
LIBERATE MICHIGAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Well that tweet explains it…
From The Detroit News (emphasis mine)
The FBI says it thwarted what it described as a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The alleged plot involved reaching out to members of a Michigan militia, according to a federal affidavit filed Thursday.
The court filing also alleges the conspirators twice conducted surveillance at Whitmer’s personal vacation home and discussed kidnapping her to a “secure location” in Wisconsin to stand “trial” for treason prior to the Nov. 3 election.
“Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. “The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.”
More than 12 people were arrested late Wednesday on state and federal charges.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, federal and state officers on Thursday detailed charges and what they described as “elaborate plans” to overthrow the government and kidnap Whitmer.
Michigan State Police Col. Joe Gasper said the department will take swift action against those seeking to harm anyone in the state of Michigan.
“This case is one of the largest cases in recent history that the MSP has been involved in,” Gasper said during an afternoon news conference.
The affidavit filed in federal court details probable cause to charge the six men with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer. Those identified by name include:
- Adam Fox
- Barry Croft
- Garbin
- Kaleb Franks
- Daniel Harris
- Brandon Caserta
In late June, Fox posted on Facebook a video in which he complained about the state’s judicial system and COVID-19 restrictions on gyms operating in Michigan.
“Fox referred to Governor Whitmer as ‘this tyrant b—-,’ and stated, ‘I don’t know, boys, we gotta do something,” according to the court affidavit. “You guys link with me on our other location system, give me some ideas of what we can do.”
The affidavit describing the thwarted plot reports two occasions when the alleged conspirators conducted surveillance on Whitmer’s vacation home — during the day on Aug. 29 and at night over the weekend of Sept. 12-13.
Fox and two other individuals located Whitmer’s home and shot video and took photos of it as they drove by on Aug. 29. One of the individuals then calculated how long it would take local and state police to respond to an incident at the property.
“We ain’t going to let ’em burn our f—in’ state down. I don’t give a f— if there’s only 20 or 30 of us, dude, we’ll go out there and use deadly force,” said Fox during the surveillance operation, according to an audio recording quoted in the affidavit.
In an encrypted group chat, Garbin later suggested that demolishing a nearby bridge would hamper a response by police to the governor’s home, according to the court filing.
The September surveillance followed a field exercise in at Garbin’s property in Luther, Michigan, where the conspirators allegedly detonated an improvised explosive device made from a commercial firework wrapped in shrapnel “to test its anti-personnel effectiveness.”
After a briefing on the plan to kidnap Whitmer, a larger group of the men drive from Luther to the vacation home in three separate vehicles while armed.
They stopped to check the underside of a highway bridge to check for places to attach an explosive charge, and discussed detonating explosive devices to divert law enforcement officers from the area of the governor’s home.
“She f—ing goddamn loves the power she has right now,” Fox said during the surveillance operation, according to the affidavit. “I can see several states takin’ their f—in’ tyrants. Everybody takes their tyrants.”
The group later returned to Garbin’s property, where they discussed destroying Whitmer’s vacation home. “Kidnapping, arson, death, I don’t care,” Franks said, according to the affidavit.
The group later made plans to conduct a final training exercise in late October but then decided that was too close to the November election, so they moved forward with raising money to procure explosives and other supplies including an 800,000-volt taser. It’s unclear when the kidnapping was planned for.
Much more at the link.
In addition to the charges against the six men above, Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel has brought state charges against seven additional men and identified the militia involved as the Wolverine Watchmen.
Breaking: Nessel separately charging 7 other men with terrorism crimes – linked to a militia group Wolverine Watchmen — to plan and train for attack on Michigan Capitol building
— David Eggert (@DavidEggert00) October 8, 2020
The Wolverine Watchmen would be the Michigan Militia Corps, Wolverines. The front page of their website provides this information:
A well-armed citizenry is the best form of Homeland Security and can better deter crime, invasion, terrorism, and tyranny. The intention of this website is to inform, promote and facilitate the development and training of the militia. Everyone is welcome, regardless of race, creed, color, religion or political affiliation, provided you do not wish to bring harm to our country or people. If you are a United States citizen (or have declared your intent to become such), who is capable of bearing arms, or supports the right to do so, then YOU ARE the MILITIA!
The Bill of Rights Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN OF 1963 ARTICLE I
§6 Bearing of arms.
Sec. 6. Every person has a right to keep and bear
arms for the defense of himself and the state.
And they have a link to their very long pdf handbook that goes into excruciatingly bad historic detail in asserting and delineating what a militia is, why it is legal under natural and constitutional law, and why it is necessary. For example:
The Militia for Beginners
The militia — sit down, brace yourself, this gets complicated — is: everyone! By definition, the militia consists of “all citizens capable of bearing arms”. I can list everyone and everything we are, but I think “everyone” pretty much covers it; so let’s move on to what we are not.
We are not racists fighting the “great race war…to annihilate the mud people”, we welcome everyone, regardless of the hue of their skin; we are not terrorists advocating violence or destroying buildings in Oklahoma full of men, women, and children, only lunatics do that; we are not right-wing religious extremists fighting “demonically controlled people activated by Satan”, we welcome everyone of every religion, no religion, or anything in between as the case may be.
We are portrayed as above, as it serves the purpose of tainting the legitimacy of our concerns. (Apply the duh theory here.)
The reality is that it is illegal to form a militia in all 50 states. You can find all the state by state details here at Georgetown Law Schools Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, which has produced this handy and easy to use online fact sheet. Here’s the details for Michigan:
Is it legal to act as a private militia in Michigan?
No. All 50 states prohibit private, unauthorized militias and military units from engaging in activities reserved for the state militia, including law enforcement activities. Some, including Michigan, also prohibit paramilitary activity during or in furtherance of a civil disorder. Michigan’s laws are described below:
Michigan Constitution: The Michigan Constitution forbids private military units from operating outside state authority, providing that “[t]he military shall in all cases and at all times be in strict subordination to the civil power.” Mich. Const. art. I, § 7.
Michigan Statutes:
Prohibition on paramilitary activity: It is a felony in Michigan to either:
(1) “teach or demonstrate to another person the use, application, or construction of any firearm, or any explosive orincendiary device, if that person knows, has reason to know, or intends that what is taught or demonstrated will be used in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder,” or
(2) “assemble with 1 or more persons for the purpose of training with, practicing with, or being instructed in the use of any firearm, or any explosive or incendiary device, if that person intends to use that firearm or device in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder.” Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.528a.
Prohibition on falsely assuming functions of a peace officer: It is also a crime in Michigan for any person who is not a “peace officer” to “[p]erform the duties of a peace officer.” A “peace officer” includes a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, federal or state law enforcement officer, and security employee, among others. Mich. Comp. laws § 750.215.
This is thwarted domestic stochastic terrorism. You have a group of people who are illegally conspiring under several Michigan state statutes and the Michigan constitution to undertake what would clearly be illegal violent actions against persons and property. They had tested improvised explosive devices (IEDs). They had planned several types of actions that would have resulted in mass casualties.
DHS finally released their October 2020 domestic threat assessment, that they tried to bury until a whistleblower made that impossible. The assessment makes it very, very, very clear that the predominant terrorism threat to Americans in the US are white supremacists and other right wing domestic extremists and that one of Russia’s major influence operations to disrupt the 2020 elections is to incite terroristic violence by these groups against visible racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
Updated at 3:05 PM EDT
Here’s the live feed of Governor Whitmer’s press conference:
Open thread!
hueyplong
Trump demands the arrests of Biden, Obama and Clinton and then, instead, the disloyal DOJ arrests five of Trump’s biggest fans?
Not sure Donald will be pleased. Not at all.
Do something, Bill!
VeniceRiley
They better not get bail.
West of the Rockies
I’m guessing all involved are white toxic masculinity types and perhaps their self-hating female supporters.
People point to the evils of racism, classism, homophobia, religious bigotry (all of which are real and vile), but at the root there is always toxic masculinity. It shits on people, the environment, animals, art, everything.
West of the Rockies
@hueyplong:
Expect Bulge Barr to step in with DOJ “oversight”.
Matt McIrvin
It’s interesting that the FBI didn’t just let them do it.
Jerzy Russian
I suppose it never occurred to them to run for local offices or positions in government where they could change the laws they are not happy with.
Joe Falco
Add one more mess to the pile Biden and Harris will have to clean up after they (hopefully) win election and boot the real would-be tyrant from the White House. Democrats will need to win elections for the next two generations at this rate before things can get better in this country.
oatler.
“False flag operation! Antifa are the real Nazis! Marxists!”
Brachiator
I’m sorry, but what?
Danielx
Every time I read about something like this, one of my reactions is:
didn’t they have anything better to do with their time?
Ken
@Matt McIrvin: Maybe this is the equivalent of the FBI blinking innocently and saying “But you said we should crack down on terrorism. The vice president stressed it at the debate.”
Brachiator
@West of the Rockies:
Stop it.
Human beings can be vile. Men and women.
Truth
Its unfortunate that these fanatics will be linked to Trump as if the shared belief of patriotism paints them as conservative. This actually says something about the stance of Liberal fanatics and the liberal media afraid to support our constitution and what it stands for. Trump and his supporters such as myself disavow these extremists as much as we condemn BLM and Antifa violence.
Chyron HR
“FAKE NEWS! I told them to STAND BY!” – President Dexamethnightrunner, probably
Adam L Silverman
@West of the Rockies: Won’t do any good on the state charges.
artem1s
@Danielx:
Every time I read about something like this, one of my reactions is:
didn’t they have anything better to do with their
timemoney?Adam L Silverman
@Matt McIrvin: The FBI remembers the Murrah Federal Building attack in Oklahoma in general and that McVeigh spent years working with, without ever formally joining, the Michigan Militia.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’m so old I recall when advocating for violent overthrow of the government caused you to lose security clearance, instead of being declared “patriotic”.
cain
Since the militia was planning on targeting cops – the press should ask the orange virus spreader whether he condemns militia given that they are targeting cops. That should really put him in a pickle.
ETA: It just shows where we are at this stage – active campaigns to stop democracy. That asshole Mike Lee openly talking against Democracy. Dems need to realize that if they don’t jump in and preserve our institutions by going soundly after those responsible that – it will come again and they might be successful the next time.
Adam L Silverman
@Jerzy Russian: They don’t even understand the laws they’re citing to support their actions.
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: Notice the tweet
abovebelow my sarcastic remark?I made an edit to clarify any potential confusion.
Adam L Silverman
@Truth: Sure you do chuckles.
John Revolta
Waaaaaaa! We wuz just playin’!!! Stooopid libz can’t take a joke! WAAAAAAAA!
Adam L Silverman
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: It still does. It is one of the questions on the SF86 and one of the questions that the investigators ask everyone they interview about you.
Hildebrand
Depressingly, I am not surprised. This state (I live in Michigan – thankfully near Detroit) tends to cough up these terrorists with unfortunate regularity – see: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. There are far too many parts of the state that vibrate with their insanity and bigotry.
TaMara (HFG)
@Adam L Silverman: Don’t feed the RWNJ trolls. ?
cain
Kid, you picked the wrong blog to mouth off in. This false equivalence is bullshit. One side is actively practicing sedition, the other is protesting within the rights of the constitution. Some of that violence comes from actual criminal elements using the protest as cover. Like you don’t think agents provocateurs exist.
So piss off on your false equivalence.. one of your senators MIke Lee actually said out loud that Democracy isn’t important.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Truth: Pull the other one, Skippy.
TaMara (HFG)
Is anyone else finding it extremely difficult getting ANYTHING done these days?
cain
In the old days, folks like these came in and we’d eat them for lunch. It was like a morsel of food next to a fire ant hill. The blog commentariat would fight amongst themselves but then unite when one of these folks showed up. They got chased out eventually. :D
cain
@TaMara (HFG):
It’s nothing but doom scrolling for me :P I have to give a talk in teh evening and I haven’t even started on the slides. :P
Immanentize
I rather like that one of the dangerous indicted treasoners was named, “Fox.”
Roger Moore
@Matt McIrvin:
The FBI is a big organization, and the regional offices are largely separate from each other. The toxic culture in the NY field office is not representative of the organization as a whole. It may have an overall right wing tilt, as many law enforcement agencies do, but that doesn’t mean they favor violent overthrow of a popular governor by right wing crazies.
Ken
@Adam L Silverman: Next you’ll be saying that having huge debts to unnamed parties constitutes a security risk.
TaMara (HFG)
@cain: I am literally staring at a blank open word doc.
Immanentize
@cain: Those guys have treason loser stink all over them.
Adam L Silverman
@TaMara (HFG): But it’s Chuckles…
Adam L Silverman
@Ken: Pretty much.
Steeplejack (phone)
@TaMara (HFG):
I’m even finding it hard getting nothing done.
Immanentize
@TaMara (HFG):
Well then, sign it!
Immanentize
@Steeplejack (phone): ?
Matt McIrvin
David Hines on how this went down:
https://twitter.com/hradzka/status/1314267077406941184
Roger Moore
@Adam L Silverman:
They use the law the way a drunk uses a lamp post: for support, not illumination. They look for something that sounds like it supports what they want to do, assume that it does, and move on from there.
MJS
Does the Governor of Michigan not have a 24/7 security detail? I’m relatively certain the Governor of PA does. If she doesn’t, she will now. If she does, then these cowards were planning on murdering law enforcement in order to carry out their plan.
Ken
Maybe twitter users will start up appropriate hashtags. #FoxConsipiracy or #FoxTerrorism, if they don’t already exist for (ahem) unrelated reasons.
Immanentize
@Roger Moore: like many evangelicals use the bible.
Immanentize
Ok. Next zoom meeting in five.
Yawn
JPL
The agents moved in when they did, because they were afraid that Whitmer would be hurt. I’m surprised that Barr hasn’t said something because this is big.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Interesting how it degenerated into grifting.
trollhattan
@Adam L Silverman:
Also, too, is it “Liberal” or “liberal”? St. Petersburg still having trouble with their ranDom capitalizatioN Rulz.
Martin
Hearing there was a 2nd plot by a different group?
Anyway, I’m guessing this would have been as successful as that plot in Venezuela. These people are clowns. Still dangerous but clowns.
Kristine
@TaMara (HFG): YES
So much doomscrolling. Also finding good threads to read–I do find interesting stuff on Twitter. I am trying to limit my time on certain sites, though. I also boxed myself in wrt some deadlines, so now I have to go offline and work every day.
TaMara (HFG)
@MJS: I literally ran into our governor and first gentleman while they were on a walk with the first dog. They had one security person with them.
(Who, btw, once he realized I was no threat, let me fangirl)
Brachiator
@Adam L Silverman:
No problem. I was reacting to the insanity of the plot itself.
Is Michigan the state where the legislature rebelled against the governor’s efforts to deal with the pandemic and the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the legislature?
There may be more of this coming. In the VP debate Pence pushed an alternate reality in which citizens decided for themselves how to react to the virus, with a little nudging from Trump, and ignored the guidance of state and local officials and health authorities.
This will only fuel more anti government sentiment.
RedDirtGirl
@Truth: Well, hello there!
Mai Naem mobile
I have to admit one of the things in the back of my mind watching Kamala Harris yesterday was her safety. And don’t tell me there’s some endless supply of secret service agents when Orange Mofo is busy getting them all exposed to COVID so that they have to be quarantined. And FB, Twitter etc. need to take responsibility for spreading this hate and do something about it. Also we desperately need to do some teaching in school about social media and disinformation.
Alex
Everyone is right to point to Trump’s call to “Liberate” Michigan, but there is a lot more going on here than some hicks whipped into a frenzy by an orange demagogue. They have funding and public encouragement from the highest ranks of Michigan Republicans and big business interests. Here’s an excellent article from Bridge on the funding and the way a sitting Republican legislator and his wife run the group behind the armed “protesters.” She has her own PAC now, too. Some of the money for the demonstrations came from De Vos funded groups– the very center of Republican power in the state, not a fringe at all. The demonstrations were not just spontaneous, but organized by conservative groups after widespread public disgust at the Chamber of Commerce’s direct lobbying against the stay home order.
When the armed groups showed up on the Capitol lawn with nooses and signs calling for the governor to be hanged, the Speaker of the House waved flags out the Capitol windows in support and went out to talk to them. When they forced their way into the Capitol and took up elevated positions over legislators debating on the floor with their assault-style rifles, the Senate Majority Leader chatted with them casually and issued statements supporting them. The Speaker and the Majority Leader control the Capitol Commission, which has refused to ban guns from the Capitol (but signs are not allowed). A legislator was overruled and threatened by the Speaker for asking people not to bring guns into her office. The Republican legislative majority sued to strike down the governor’s emergency powers and just won and now doesn’t know what to do because they wanted to just posture about it and now they might have retroactively revoked everyone’s unemployment eligibility. The threat is coming from inside the house (but with just enough proxies for some not very plausible deniability).
These guys aren’t bright enough to maintain operational security, but I worry a lot about who else might be out there.
TaMara (HFG)
@JPL: Yes, where is Barr? Notably absent since he decided to “quarantine.”
Alex
I think the Bridge article link didn’t work: https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/meet-trump-loving-group-behind-protest-gov-whitmers-stay-home-order
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Not really, FBI members like law and order and not dying from preventable diseases.
Fraud Guy
@Roger Moore: Like their Bible citations.
trollhattan
@Matt McIrvin:
Very helpful summary, thanks.
Humanities Prof
@TaMara (HFG): Tell me about it.
I teach an introductory college course on political science. How in the name of FSM am I supposed to talk about the Supreme Court in my (virtual) lecture without coming across like a totally unhinged loon? It’s one of those situations where if you tell the truth, you still sound crazy.
I have a had a love-hate relationship with this course since the first time I taught it, but I REALLY hate teaching it in election years.
Mai Naem mobile
@JPL: who knows where Barr is. For all you know he’s at Walter Reed. I find it hard to believe that Barr decided to self quarantine without being having symptoms of some sort.
Roger Moore
@Immanentize:
This is completely unfair; it’s not just Evangelicals who use the Bible that way. Selectively quoting snippets of scripture out of context has a long tradition dating back to the Evangelists. Seriously, check the full context of the scripture that’s quoted in the New Testament; it rarely means anything like what the authors purport it to mean.
CaseyL
@Steeplejack (phone):
I laughed. Then I realized: not only is that true, I am also having a hard time doing nothing, And anything.
It’s like, I can’t stop checking Twitter because something new and apocalyptic is happening Every. 10. Minutes.
SFBayAreaGal
Wow those October suprises keep on coming.
I don’t think these are the October suprises Trump and his minions had planned.
ellie
Why? Because she made them wear masks?
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG):
Only if the word ANYTHING refers to the things I should be doing. If so, the answer is ‘yes’. I keep moving things on my calendar to the next day, and the next, and the next after that.
Roger Moore
@JPL:
Barr won’t say anything because it doesn’t serve his narrative. He absolutely does not want to point out that the biggest threat to our freedom is from right wing extremists.
Martin
@Alex:
I think that’s Adams larger point. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t bright enough to pull this off – just hand out enough guns and ammo, and you’ll either stumble into one who is, or you create more threats than law enforcement can unroll and some of them get far enough to succeed.
trollhattan
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
My taser has 900k volts. Just sayin’.
hueyplong
@Brachiator: Agree with you in general, but in this specific instance… these incels… I wouldn’t put my own money on gender neutrality.
WaterGirl
@Immanentize: Well done, Imm.
JPL
Adam L Silverman
@Immanentize:
trollhattan
@SFBayAreaGal:
Trump’s October surprises are being crafted using 11-dimensional
chesscheckerstic-tac-to.Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Generations of future historians will squabble mightily – those with PhDs for October 8, 2020 will have to constantly battle historians with PhDs for September 29, 2020 about their analyses and conclusions in light of what happened over the following 10 days….
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): I would almost be willing to bet my house that Barr is COVID positive.
Gin & Tonic
@TaMara (HFG): Yes.
Ken
@TaMara (HFG): @Mai Naem mobile: Maybe the reason Trump is suddenly mad at Barr and Pompeo is that he’s found they’re both covid-positive.
Delk
Garbin? One name like Cher or Liberace? Catinflas?
Baud
@TaMara (HFG): oh my yes.
Martin
@Roger Moore: Shit, these works are written that way, so it goes to the original authors as well. I worked for a project that documented changes to the early new testament writings. Because reproduction of these works was so expensive to do, it provided opportunities to rewrite them for political benefit.
One of the fun things you get to do in a classics curriculum is translate seemingly ‘written in stone’ passages from the Bible and compare them to modern versions and then work backward to figure out how the fuck they ended up like that. (I’ve gotten to do a lot of weird stuff in my life)
Adam L Silverman
Just put this up top as an update. Here’s the live feed for Whitmer’s press conference.
Gin & Tonic
While this is good, and probably legit, the oldster majority here certainly recalls Cointelpro.
Martin
@Adam L Silverman: Not to worry, I have a permit.
Roger Moore
@ellie:
Pretty much, though it wasn’t limited to masks. She was more aggressive than most governors in using every power she had to shut down the state to prevent COVID from spreading. And with great success, it should be pointed out.
Alex
@Brachiator: The legal status of the Michigan governor’s emergency powers is very complicated right now but, yes, in essence you are right. The GOP Legislature sued the governor, and now her extension of the emergency order under one longstanding law has been struck down on nondelegation (!) grounds in a related case. The Legislature said they wanted to manage this situation legislatively, even though the legislative process is clearly not nimble enough and they have made no effort to enable remote session or pass legislation to deal with the crisis.
They wanted to go home to campaign and be able to rail against that mean lady governor, and now they are the dog that caught the car. Cases are on the rise. What is the status of public health orders, can official bodies meet remotely, will people have to pay back the emergency unemployment that is now invalidated, can businesses sue the state for having been shut down, can your employer fire you for missing work after you test positive, are public decisions previously made in remote meetings all invalid, etc? It’s a huge mess. We are less than a month out from the election and they just put all public health measures in limbo and cut off everyone’s unemployment benefits. Obviously they are very fit to govern.
dmsilev
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Hell, some of the more crowded days might have morning-specialists and afternoon-specialists.
If nothing else, this year has taught us all the wisdom behind the apocryphal “may you live in interesting times” curse.
Ken
@Delk: Adam left out a paragraph that was before the list and gave his full name:
Not repeating the name is probably a style thing. What puzzles me is why the reporter had that paragraph, and chose to single out Garbin. Maybe the information wasn’t available for the others?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Adam L Silverman: Oh, I know that. I’m just complaining about the hijacking of the word “patriotism”, the same way “religious freedom” now means “you have to follow the boss’ religion” (but only if it’s the state-sanctioned religion).
Brachiator
@hueyplong:
Too many examples of racist white women acting out, too many YouTube videos for there to even be a question about this.
different-church-lady
Nothing says “standing against treason!” quite like overthrowing democratically elected leaders.
hueyplong
@Brachiator: Mr Vice President, I’ll just repeat I said “this one particular instance” and that I agree with you in general and leave it there.
Brachiator
@Alex:
Thank you very much for the explanatory detail.
This seems especially cruel.
prostratedragon
@Danielx: Amen!
Kay
@Alex:
Thanks. Interesting.
It’s amazing the DeVos family were dumb enough to get hooked into this.
Roger Moore
@different-church-lady:
I think this gets to the very heart of right wing extremism. They are deeply committed to a vision of the USA that’s completely at odds with ours. They see the country as being one that’s run by people like them, and they believe the job of the government is to ensure that the right kind of people stay in charge. They will happily overthrow the government and the constitution they claim to hold so dear to protect the power of white male Christians over everyone else.
Alex
@ellie: Some of it is that these guys have been itching for their chance to live out their fantasy of fighting tyranny and getting revenge on everyone they hate, and the masks are a symbol for that. But I do think the organized support from the more established conservative and Republican groups is coming from business owners who just hated the shutdown orders and the idea that we would have to use tax money to support people. They tried sending an open letter to the governor from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce right after the shutdown order, and everyone just shredded them for putting profits over people. So they decided to astroturf it, and a lot of media have amplified that narrative. “Oh, look at these salt of the earth patriots who just want to get back to their jobs” but when you ask them their demands they want to hire a landscaper or get their hair professionally dyed. There’s been a remarkable lack of curiosity over what it costs for paramilitary cosplay in a fully tricked out pickup truck and whether that’s in the average working joe’s budget.
Ksmiami
@MJS: yes they were actively discussing murdering law enforcement which made a member nervous enough to tip off FBI
trollhattan
@Kay:
I get the feeling the DeVoses spray their cash around like a Rainbird sprinkler. “RU conservative and want to own the Libs? Come to us for easy money.”
Adam L Silverman
@Brachiator: They just won in the state supreme court to overturn part of her emergency powers and order.
West of the Rockies
@Brachiator:
There is nothing wrong with masculinity. Please note the “toxic” in front of it. It is an important modifier.
Kay
@Alex:
It’s alarming how triumphalist they all are because I don’t know what happens when Trump loses:
japa21
I was listening to the MI AG on the way back from our morning adventure with our 6 yo grandson who does remote learning in the morning.
She was very clear that she views this as just the tip of the iceberg. I have a hunch investigations like this are going on in several states.
Adam L Silverman
@Humanities Prof: I was teaching American Federal Government at the University of Central Arkansas when Chief Justice Rehnquist died. Shoot me an email, I have some suggestions for you.
MJS
@japa21: And hopefully every militia in Michigan and every other state now believes that they have been infiltrated by FBI informants.
Alex
Aaand… the antilockdown folks are out on the Michigan Capitol lawn right now for a pre-scheduled rally. Looks like there are not a lot of visible guns at the moment, though they had been in the habit of asking the Michigan Militia to provide armed “security.” I doubt they have even locked the doors :/ https://twitter.com/LaurenMGibbons/status/1314285516410564608
Matt McIrvin
@SFBayAreaGal: It doesn’t feel like the zone is being flooded in the same way it was 4 years ago. The Trump gang’s memes and positions don’t have effective control of the media the way they did then.
Kay
@trollhattan:
They’re mainstream, though, the DeVos’. Far Right rich people but still mainstream.
These are really sketchy people:
I think the lack of foresight surprises me- the recklessness. Whatever else happened Trump wasn’t going to be in office forever but the DeVos will still be attempting to purchase the state of Michigan.
A Ghost to Most
@West of the Rockies: Not by my reckoning, and I spent too much time with these assholes. At base, they’re selfish, self-righteous, and possess a huge sense of entitlement. They will only see and believe what’s around them.
Bill Arnold
@Truth:
(You do not sound entirely sincere, but what the hey.)
BullshitDo us all, right and left, a favor, and find and give us useful links for the denunciations of right wing violent and proto-violent extremism in major “conservative” publications. You get to read them, and we don’t have to slog through the RW propaganda and lies to find a few truths.
Chris Johnson
@TaMara (HFG): Yes yes YES. I can hardly do anything, it’s so hard to not be welded to Twitter or whatever watching the world burn.
Kay
O/T but I’m so pleased for Harris:
All she had to do was hold but she did much, much better than that. She persuaded people.
PPCLI
@Humanities Prof: This might be a good time to tell people about FDR’s threat to pack the court, resulting in the “Switch in time that saved nine”.
scav
@Immanentize: I loved the Fox detail of the incident too. Scriptwriters in this timeline can get away with anything.
Neldob
@Truth. These types, militias and white supremacists and right wing extremists, like Trump A LOT.
A Ghost to Most
@Truth: Sedition isn’t patriotism. They’re tribal assholes.
BTW, “Truth” is a human construct, usually a twisted shadow of reality.
Alex
@Kay: Yup! They are so mainstream that right now the Speaker of the House’s father, a prominent pastor, is addressing the anti-lockdown crowd on the steps of the Capitol (he’s the nominal founder of the group). So the legislators maintain this very flimsy fiction that they are just following the demands of “the people” when the people in question are their own spouses and parents. They circulated a petition to get signatures to get an anti-lockdown measure on the ballot, but they never plan to have it on a ballot they want the Legislature to be able to adopt it without needing the governor’s sign-off. They are being investigated for signature gathering fraud, too. It’s all right out there, but the lack of local and state media coverage compared to the presidential debacle means most people have no idea.
zhena gogolia
@Kay:
Are people finally, finally tired of having BS crammed down their throats?
Baud
@Kay:
Good news. Glad people are seeing things our way.
Adam L Silverman
@trollhattan: What’s its deployable range?
Adam L Silverman
@Martin: Hell just read a very good English translation of the original Hebrew ten commandments. You’re talking five pages of text, not ten bullet points. And then contrast that with the restating of them in Deuteronomy, which are not the same ten commandments.
Adam L Silverman
@Ken: Operator head space timing error on my part. I was working to get this up as quickly as possible without just copying and pasting the whole article from the Detroit News.
Adam L Silverman
@Kay: The DeVos family want the state to violently enforce their understanding of theocracy. This is right in line with their ideological and religious stupidity.
rikyrah
I am swamped at work, but, I still get new notifications, and looking at them,…
it’s something you look at twice, cause it’s confusing, cause it’s so phucking INSANE!
Fraud Guy
Love the facial expressions on the sign language translator.
MisterForkbeard
@Kay: I have family members who were very pro-Bernie and thought Kamala was awful, even back in August when she was announced.
Literally after last night, they bought Kamala merch and were meme-posting her “I’m speaking now” admonishment. I think she did a lot of good.
Citizen Alan
@Truth:
Treasonous scumbag says what?
J R in WV
@MJS:
Fix’d that for you. That’s what it should be, if it isn’t the way it actually is.
ETA: grammar fixd
Soprano2
Yes, the Trump administration has negatively affected my ability to get my job done. I obsessively check Twitter every couple of hours to see if he’s done anything crazy. It’s bad for me. Hoping it ends between November 3rd and January 21st.
catclub
There is a bay of pigs section of GoFundme? I did not know that.
catclub
@J R in WV: The bad part of this is when the multiple informants are competing to incite the most violent actions.
J R in WV
Thank doG i’m retired. I’m barely able to get anything done around the place. Have had gravel trucked and tailgated onto the farm road, 4 truckloads today, probably 3 more tomorrow, it’s a quarter mile. Plus want to have a pile in reserve to work on the road with the tractor.
But I didn’t have to go fetch the gravel, drive back and forth. So I’m caught up pretty well for today. I do have to go to town now that the last load is delivered and the check for today’s work is written. Will get needed stuff and carry out from a nice place. Nearly out of tonic water (OH NOES!) and other necessary things.
Adam L Silverman
@J R in WV:
Uncle Cosmo
Cuius negotio, eius religio, ah s’poze – cuz it worked so well in 16th-century Germany…
Cheryl Rofer
Thanks, Adam.
Nicely timed action by the FBI to warn off more Trump-inspired militias from “checking on the ballot boxes.”
Neckbeards and goatees were predictable, no?
Darkrose
I can’t sleep because I can’t turn off the hamster wheel, and then I wake up in the middle of the night and my first thought is, “What has he done now?” I’m constantly exhausted during the day, and my ADHD has been dialed up to 11 because I’m constantly looking around for the next threat.
I’m so tired of this.
Alex
These guys definitely think the Constitution is a suicide pact. A murder-suicide pact. “Gun ban unlikely at Michigan Capitol despite plot to storm it, take hostages” https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/gun-ban-unlikely-michigan-capitol-despite-plot-storm-it-take-hostages
Mike in NC
@Cheryl Rofer: Trumpism just has a peculiar appeal to guys who look like they were rejected from appearing on Duck Dynasty, like Brad Parscale and Trump Jr.
Incitatus for Senate
Not generally happy with the actions of the FBI, but they do appear to have thoroughly infiltrated the militias/white sepremacists. Seems like anytime you have three assholes in a bar talking revolution one of them is an FBI informant.
Jeffro
@TaMara (HFG): yup, 110%.
I get up and try my best to stick to work for a couple hours, an hour, ok 30 minutes at a time. But it doesn’t happen too often.
It’s okay. Perfectly normal – these are absolutely wacky-beyond-wacky times!
Jeffro
Which is probably why they wrote the affadavit like they did. If they can get these nuts fighting amongst themselves and super-paranoid about meeting, talking, etc they can slow them down/render them nearly ineffective.
TiredOfItAll
@Truth: Sure, let’s wait and see if evidence comes out (Facebook posts, whatever) that they are in fact giant Trump fans. I hear your point, but I betting that will be the case.
Gravenstone
@Truth: New chew toy. Aisle 13!
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: For the record, I trim the bottom of my beard along the bottom of my jaw/chin line. I don’t understand how anyone can have a beard go down their neck. Itches like crazy. And I have a very full beard.
divF
@Adam L Silverman:
That’s only because Moses didn’t have access to Powerpoint.
Also, Terry Carr, the Ace paperback editor, used to joke that if the Bible had been published as science fiction, it would have had to be cut down to two volumes of twenty thousand words each; the Old Testament would have been retitled “Master of Chaos”, and the New Testament “The Thing with Three Souls”.
MomSense
@Darkrose:
My trumpsomnia has been out of control lately.
Adam L Silverman
@TiredOfItAll: Already has. Here’s the thread:
debbie
@VeniceRiley:
Hell, Trump should be named an accessory. This is just so appalling.
debbie
@Mike in NC:
Be honest.
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
They literally could be brothers, they look so similar.
debbie
@japa21:
Maybe not even secretly. There’s a state rep here (forget his name) who has filed bills to impeach Governor DeWine and get him labeled as a terrorist.
They all have to go.
TiredOfItAll
@Adam L Silverman: Well, there ya go. Thanks for the horrific deets. Jesus. I’m gonna imagine Ephraim Zimbalist Jr (yeah, I’m old) taking down all these idiots
Ned F.
Militia For Beginners? Damn, I bought Militia for Dummies.
Wolverines was the name of my cub scout troop.
debbie
@Alex:
Are these assholes up for reelection next month?
Cheryl Rofer
@debbie: I think the middle two are
debbie
@Cheryl Rofer:
I was too blinded by their beauty to even see the names below. Apologies.
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
@Incitatus for Senate: Sort of like every story you hear about a spouse trying to hire a hitman always winds up talking to an undercover cop.
UncleEbeneezer
@West of the Rockies: Also, women can perform (and are shaped by) toxic masculinity too.
BruceFromOhio
Hmmm … “well-regulated Militia” … these yahoos always skip that chapter.
May they fucking rot behind bars until time steals everything from them.
And that DHS report should be topic #3 behind COVID and the election.
Bill Arnold
Bill Arnold
Full thread:
This is about right:
Adam L Silverman
@Bill Arnold: Absolutely hysterical.
NotMax
Will no one say it?
@Truth
How’s your BFF Izvestia?
Ken
@Bill Arnold: “This was the safest conspiracy session FOX has held. And so of course he posts about it on Facebook.”
I know people don’t like twitter and facebook – I’m one of them – but I have to wonder if they’ve accidentally made us safer by giving idiots a place to brag. Probably doesn’t offset the damage from giving idiots a place to congregate and reinforce one another’s delusional thinking.
Alex
@debbie: The Michigan House is up for election, and a Dem majority is reachable despite heavy gerrymandering. Phone bank and other info here: https://www.mobilize.us/mihousedems/?tag_ids=1
No One You Know
@Roger Moore: The winning party wrote the Bible.