Should the FBI Face Punishment for Inventing Plot to Kidnap Gov. Whitmer?

Here’s the Scoop

Attorneys for five men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) filed a 20-page motion of dismissal, citing “egregious overreaching” by federal authorities and informants.

“Essentially, the evidence here demonstrates egregious overreaching by the government’s agents, and by the informants those agents handled,” the lawyers wrote. “When the government was faced with evidence showing that the defendants had no interest in a kidnapping plot, it refused to accept failure and continued to push its plan.”

“The government initiated this case, despite the fact that it knew there was no plan to kidnap, no operational plan, and no details about how a kidnapping would occur or what would happen afterward,” the lawyers stated.

The motion continued, arguing that “informants, of course, not only contacted the defendants face to face but also coaxed, persuaded, cajoled, played on sympathies, cultivated friendships, took advantage of the defendants’ financial conditions, and suggested that the offense they proposed ‘would further a greater good.'” The defense stated informants drove the case, making the men feel a “sense of patriotism and right-doing.”

“These defendants had no desire whatsoever to kidnap anyone,” the lawyers added.

Source: The Detroit News