Michigan Office of the Governor via AP
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the Trump administration was aware of threats against her, and did nothing to reduce their attacks on her.
- The FBI said it foiled a plot by six men to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state’s government.
- Jason Miller, a senior advisor for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign attacked Whitmer after she said Trump was responsible for not condemning white supremacists.
- Trump attacked Whitmer in a series of tweets on Thursday night.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer fired back after Jason Miller, a senior advisor for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, attacked her for reportedly hating Trump just hours after the FBI said it had stopped armed right-wing extremists who were plotting to kidnap her.
“If we want to talk about hatred, then Gov. Whitmer, go look in the mirror — the fact that she wakes up every day with such hatred in her heart for President Trump,” Miller said in a Fox News appearance.
Whitmer told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the administration was aware of threats made against her, and did nothing to reduce their attacks on her.
“I have raised this issue with them (Trump Admin)… I was aware of a lot of the threats being made against me and my family and I asked for their help. They didn’t do anything about it…Here we are. We are very close to a plot that was to kidnap me and to murder…” Whitmer said.
Whitmer said that Miller’s attack “tells you everything you need to know about the character of the two people on this ballot that we have to choose from in a few weeks.”
“You know, the fact that after a plot to kidnap and to kill me, this is what they come out with. They start attacking me, as opposed to what good, decent people would do is to check-in and say, ‘Are you OK?’ — which is what Joe Biden did,” Whitmer told Burnett on “Out Front.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked the Democratic governor for her coronavirus response as well as her response to protests following the death of George Floyd.
He again attacked Whitmer on Twitter on Thursday.
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2020
“Governor Whitmer of Michigan has done a terrible job,” he tweeted Thursday night. “She locked down her state for everyone, except her husband’s boating activities. The Federal Government provided tremendous help to the Great People of Michigan.
“My Justice Department and Federal Law Enforcement announced…today that they foiled a dangerous plot against the Governor of Michigan. Rather than say thank you, she calls me a White Supremacist—while Biden and Democrats refuse to condemn Antifa, Anarchists, Looters and Mobs that burn down Democrat run cities…” Trump added.
“I do not tolerate ANY extreme violence,” he said in yet another tweet. “Defending ALL Americans, even those who oppose and attack me, is what I will always do as your President! Governor Whitmer—open up your state, open up your schools, and open up your churches!”
Federal and state officials brought charges against a total of thirteen people on Thursday for allegedly plotting to kidnap Whitmer.
An FBI affidavit said the men reached out to members of an armed right-wing militia in Michigan to carry out their plan.
“In early 2020, the FBI became aware through social media that a group of individuals were discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components. Among those individuals identified were Croft and Fox,” Richard Trask II, an FBI agent, wrote in the sworn affidavit.
Following the news, Whitmer said the president was “complicit” for not condemning right-wing groups.
“Just last week, the President of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn white supremacists and hate groups like these two Michigan militia groups,” she said in a speech following the FBI news. “‘Stand back and stand by,’ he told them. ‘Stand back and stand by.’ Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry, as a call to action. When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight.”
In response to Whitmer’s remarks, the White House told Business Insider: “President Trump has continually condemned white supremacists and all forms of hate. Governor Whitmer is sowing division by making these outlandish allegations. America stands united against hate and in support of our federal law enforcement who stopped this plot.”
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