The Michigan Kidnapping Plot And What's Fueling Right-Wing Extremism
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 October 2020
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
The plot began as talk on social media sites, with a group of men gathering on Facebook to share anti-government reaction to Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions and shutdowns.
Experts say the pandemic, protests, and the words of the president have combined to fuel a rise in right-wing extremism. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a professor at American University who tracks right-wing extremism, spoke to NPR about how right-wing recruiters are taking advantage of President Trump's hesitancy to condemn white supremacy and militia groups.
And while these men have been referred to as members of a "militia," that term has also resurfaced a debate about whether groups like this should actually be referred to as domestic terrorist groups, says Kathleen Belew, an assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago who studies paramilitary and white power groups.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When she put her hand on a Bible and took her oath of office 22 months ago, |
| 0:04.8 | Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, says he knew the job would be hard. |
| 0:09.0 | But I'll be honest, I never could have imagined anything like this. |
| 0:13.4 | By this, she meant this announcement from state and federal authorities yesterday. |
| 0:18.2 | To announce state and federal charges against 13 members of two militia groups |
| 0:24.3 | who are preparing to kidnap and possibly kill me. |
| 0:28.1 | Let me repeat that. |
| 0:29.5 | A sitting American governor found herself at the center of a kidnapping plot. |
| 0:34.8 | Authorities say it began as talk on social media sites, |
| 0:38.3 | a group of radical far right guys coming together over Facebook to share anti-government feelings, |
| 0:44.6 | but it quickly became more concrete. |
| 0:46.9 | And the FBI had a confidential informant passing back info about how it was unfolding. |
| 0:53.0 | The criminal complaint describes secret meetings, talk of murdering, quote, |
| 0:57.4 | tyrants, or quote, taking a sitting governor, then prosecutors say the suspects |
| 1:02.8 | case the governor's vacation home, bought a taser, bought night vision goggles, |
| 1:08.4 | and they even tested a bomb. |
| 1:10.5 | So the authorities stepped in. |
| 1:12.6 | So let me say this loud and clear. |
| 1:15.4 | Hatred, bigotry and violence have no place in the great state of Michigan. |
| 1:21.2 | If you break the law or conspire to commit heinous acts of violence against anyone, |
| 1:27.8 | we will find you. |
| 1:29.4 | We will hold you accountable and we will bring you to justice. |
... |
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