3 Men In Whitmer Plot Face Weapons Of Mass Destruction Charges

MICHIGAN — Three men accused by U.S. attorneys of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction charges, according to a federal indictment.

Adam Dean Fox, of Grand Rapids, Daniel Joseph Harris, of Lake Orion, and Barry Gordon Croft, of Delaware, were charged by federal prosecutors Wednesday — six months after they and three other men were charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, a felony life offense, as part of an investigation by federal authorities into a plot by a group called the Wolverine Watchmen to kidnap and potentially kill Whitmer.

Along with two others — Brandon Caserta of Canton and Kaleb Franks of Waterford — Fox, Harris and Croft are awaiting trial in the case. The sixth man charged by federal authorities — Ty Garbin, of Hartland Township — has pleaded guilty and has agreed to testify against his co-defendants in the case.

In all, 14 people are charged in connection to accusations of plotting to kidnap Whitmer. Eight other men have been charged through an investigation by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel with accusations of various terrorism-related charges.

Read More: Michigan Militia Members Accused In Plot To Kidnap, Kill Whitmer

The federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accused the three men of intending to use "the destructive devices to facilitate their plot to kidnap the Governor, by harming and hindering the Governor's security detail and any responding law enforcement officers."

According to the federal indictment, Harris told members of the Wolverine Watchmen that he was a Marine Corps. infantry veteran who could "make things go boom if you give me what I need."

In May 2020, prosecutors allege, Harris said he could recruit to the Wolverine Watchmen an "associate" with bomb-making experience. In July 2020, he and Croft traveled to Wisconsin where they assembled and attempted to detonate two improvised explosive devices containing shrapnel, prosecutors said in the indictment.

Fox, according to the indictment, ordered $4,000 in explosives from an undercover FBI agent posing as a co-conspirator.

The six men charged in the federal investigation were arrested in October 2020. They all are alleged to have served various roles in the plotting, from attempted bomb-making to training exercises and surveilling the governor's personal vacation home.

Along with another member of the militia group, Croft in July tried to construct an improvised explosive device using black powder, balloons, a fuse and BBs for shrapnel, according to federal documents. Despite multiple attempts at this, their explosive device was faulty and did not detonate as planned, according to documents.

At a Sept. 12 meeting in Luther, Michigan, Croft brought what he referred to as his "chemistry set," including the components for an IED, according to federal documents. The group detonated a homemade IED in an exercise, according to documents.

Croft was among a group to spy on the governor's vacation home, according to documents. Documents show that Croft suggested the surveillance mission turn into "an act of violence," but he was eventually dissuaded from the notion.

Croft and Fox discussed detonating explosive devices at the M-31 highway bridge as a way to divert police from the area of the governor's vacation home when they executed their plot, according to documents.

Along with Croft, Fox was considered a leader of the militia effort, seeking to unite others in their cause and take violent action against multiple state governments, according to documents.

Fox told other members he planned to attack the Capitol and asked them to "combine forces," according to documents. At one point, documents show, he discussed needing "200 men" to storm the Capitol building in Lansing, taking hostages.

Some of the group's meetings were held at Fox's Grand Rapids business, with members meeting in the basement of the shop, which was accessed through a trap door hidden under a rug, according to documents. Fox would collect the members' cell phones, put them in a box and carry them upstairs to prevent any monitoring, but an informant wearing a wire was able to record their meetings, documents show.

The meetings were used to discuss their plot against Whitmer, countering law enforcement first responders and using "Molotov cocktails" against police vehicles, according to documents.
Fox recorded videos in a private Facebook group where he ranted about Whitmer being a tyrant and said "we gotta do something," according to documents.

On July 27, Fox and an informant discussed a "snatch and grab" plan to kidnap the governor when she was arriving at or leaving her personal vacation home, documents show.

Harris attended meetings and trainings with the group and, at one point, suggested the group "have one person go to her house. Knock on the door and when she answers it just cap her," according to federal documents, referring to Whitmer.