Member of extremist group pleads guilty in connection with plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Whitmer

A member of the antigovernment group accused of plotting last year to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has pleaded guilty in federal court to a related conspiracy charge.

Ty Garbin, a 25-year-old airplane mechanic, pleaded guilty Wednesday and will testify against five other defendants charged in connection with the kidnapping plot who are also being tried in federal court.

Eight additional men have been accused of taking part in the plot. Garbin plans to also testify against them.

In October, the defendants were arrested for planning to kidnap Governor Whitmer around the time of the November presidential election and abandon her in a boat in the middle of Lake Michigan, or perhaps move her to a different state, maybe Wisconsin, and bring her to trial. 

Garbin is still facing a life sentence for a kidnapping charge with additional charges for weapons and explosives possible. 

The extremists believed Whitmer was behaving like a "tyrant" due to the restrictions she placed on the people and businesses of her state during the coronavirus lockdowns. By the time the plot came to light, protests had been taking place in Michigan for months in objection to Whitmer's rules. 

Garbin and his cohort were part of a group called the Wolverine Watchmen, which spent a significant part of 2020 plotting  various scenarios in which they would rebel against government forces. Several times, the group met to run drills and training exercises.