Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has accused US President Donald Trump of being “complicit” in the plot that was uncovered of men who allegedly planned for months to kidnap her.
Authorities announced on Thursday that they foiled a plot to abduct Whitmer in a scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home before the November 3 elections.
“Well, anyone who gives safe harbour to or encouragement, is complicit,” said Whitmer during an interview on ‘ABC News/Good Morning America’ on Friday. “Both sides of the aisle need to stand up and do the right thing here, because this should not stand in the United States of America in 2020.”
Six men were charged in federal court with conspiring to kidnap the governor in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power,” according to a federal complaint.
Separately, seven others linked to a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen were charged in state court for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and seek a “civil war.”
Whitmer, who was considered as Biden’s running mate and is nearly halfway through a four-year term, has been widely praised for her response to the coronavirus but also sharply criticized by Republican lawmakers and people in conservative areas of the state.
President Trump tweeted that the governor “has done a terrible job” and again called on her to open up her state. He said he does not tolerate any extreme violence.
“A decent human being would pick up the phone and say, hey, are you okay? How’s your family doing?” said Whitmer. “That’s what a decent human being. That’s what Joe Biden did.”
On Thursday night, President Trump sought to take credit for federal investigators eliminating the threat to the governor.
“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,” he tweeted.
Biden has condemned militias as “a genuine threat” and said Trump’s April tweet calling for Michigan to be ‘liberated’ encouraged militias.
The Midwestern state of Michigan could prove pivotal in the outcome of next month’s US presidential election.
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