The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Wednesday, October 14, 2020 — 5

Seven men charged under state terrorism law plot

Michigan Attorney General 

Dana Nessel charged seven 
men under the state’s anti-
terrorism 
law 
for 
their 

involvement in a plot to kidnap 
Michigan 
Gov. 
Gretchen 

Whitmer 
and 
violently 

overthrow the government. 
The charges, which Nessel 
announced 
Thursday, 
come 

after months of high-profile 
disputes over the governor’s 
use of executive power to fight 
the 
coronavirus 
pandemic 

and a series of protests in 
opposition 
to 
her 
orders, 

some of which brought armed 
demonstrators to the Michigan 
State Capitol. 

Six 
additional 
men 
also 

face federal charges, which 
were unsealed Thursday. The 
suspects have been taken into 
custody and the investigation 
is ongoing.

The 
group 
planned 
to 

kidnap Whitmer and move 
her to a “secure location” in 
Wisconsin to face “trial.” They 
also wanted more than 200 
men to storm the Michigan 
Capitol and made threats to 
instigate a civil war. They 
planned on creating a “self-
sufficient” society. 

The state charges included 

felony counts of threat of 
terrorism, gang membership, 
providing material support for 
terrorist acts and carrying or 

possessing a firearm during a 
felony. At a press conference, 
Nessel said there has been an 
increase in anti-government 
rhetoric and groups embracing 
extremist ideologies.

“Our 
efforts 
uncovered 

elaborate plans to endanger 
the lives of law enforcement 
officers, government officials 
and 
the 
broader 
public,” 

Nessel said. “The multi-front 
operation to apprehend the 
suspects 
in 
question 
was 

carefully 
coordinated 
and 

skillfully executed.”

According 
to 
the 
FBI’s 

criminal complaint, the men 
had been plotting with a 
Michigan 
militia 
group 
at 

least since July to kidnap 
the 
Democratic 
governor, 

and had performed combat 
drills, obtained firearms and 
attempted to make explosives. 
The group had also attempted 
to obtain addresses of law 
enforcement officers to target 
them. 

The 
FBI 
intercepted 

encrypted 
messages 
earlier 

this 
year 
and 
relied 
on 

undercover 
agents 
and 

informants 
working 
within 

the group. 

According to the federal 

complaint, Michigan residents 
Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, Kaleb 
Franks, Daniel Harris and 
Brandon Caserta along with 
Delaware 
resident 
Barry 

Croft 
have 
been 
charged 

with conspiring to kidnap the 
governor. 

Nessel 
charged 
seven 

additional men, all of whom 
are residents of Michigan. Paul 
Bellar, age 21 of Milford, faces 
three felony counts: providing 
material support for terrorist 
acts, 
gang 
membership, 

carrying 
or 
possessing 
a 

firearm during the commission 
of a felony. 

Shaun 
Fix, 
age 
38 
of 

Belleville; Eric Molitor, age 36 
of Cadillac; Michael Null, age 
36 of Plainwell; and William 
Null, age 38 of Shelbyville, face 
two felony counts: providing 
material support for terrorist 
acts, carrying or possessing a 
firearm during the commission 
of a felony. 

Pete Musico and Joseph 

Morrison, both age 42 and who 
live together in Munith, face 
four felony counts: one count 
each of threat of terrorism, 
one 
count 
each 
of 
gang 

membership, one count each of 
providing support of terrorist 
acts and one count each of 
possessing a firearm during 
the commission of a felony. 

Whitmer 
faced 
criticism 

from conservative lawmakers 
and right-wing groups after 
enacting emergency executive 
orders 
related 
to 
COVID-

19. In April, hundreds of 
demonstrators 
gathered 
in 

Lansing, 
Mich. 
to 
protest 

the 
governor’s 
stay-at-

home orders. Many of these 
protesters 
were 
openly 

carrying firearms, which is 
legal in the Michigan Capitol. 

The 
Michigan 
Supreme 

Court 
recently 
ruled 
that 

Whitmer 
overstepped 
her 

authority in issuing executive 
orders 
related 
to 
COVID-

19 precautions beyond April 
30, saying the law she used 
to justify her actions was 
unconstitutional. The status 
of state regulations remains 
in limbo, with some local 
governments working to fill in 
the gaps. 

Whitmer 
maintains 

her executive orders were 
justified, as they aimed to save 
lives and protect people from 
the 
coronavirus 
pandemic. 

One study found that the 
governor’s 
stay-at-home 

orders may have saved tens of 
thousands of lives in the state.

At 
a 
press 
conference 

Thursday, 
Whitmer 
said 

she had anticipated facing 
challenges 
as 
governor 
of 

Michigan, but said she “never 
could have imagined anything 
like this.” She thanked federal 
and state law enforcement for 
their work, adding that she 
hoped the charges will lead to 
convictions that bring “these 
sick and depraved men to 
justice.”

Whitmer also condemned 

President 
Donald 
Trump 

for failing to rebuke white 
supremacists 
and 
said 

Trump’s inability to address 
the 
pandemic 
was 
the 

result 
of 
ignoring 
public 

health guidance. In April, 
Trump tweeted “LIBERATE 

MICHIGAN!” in response to 
Whitmer’s efforts to limit the 
spread of COVID-19.

“Our head of state has 

spent the last seven months 
denying science, ignoring his 
own health experts, stoking 
distrust, 
fomenting 
anger 

and giving comfort to those 
who spread fear and hatred 
and division,” Whitmer said. 
“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.”

At a presidential debate on 

Sept. 29, Trump declined to 
denounce white supremacists 
and 
directed 
a 
far-right 

extremist group to “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,” Whitmer said.

Andrew Birge, U.S. attorney 

for the Western District of 
Michigan, 
said 
the 
group 

used code words and phrases 
to avoid detection by law 
enforcement and conducted 
surveillance on the governor’s 
vacation home. Two of the 
men discussed planting and 
detonating explosives to deter 
law enforcement. He also said 
the men could face up to life in 
prison if convicted. 

Joseph Gasper, colonel of 

the Michigan State Police, said 
the MSP will take swift action 

against anyone planning or 
seeking to commit violence in 
the state.

“This case is one of the 

largest cases in recent history 
that 
the 
MSP 
has 
been 

involved in,” Gasper said. “I 
think that the nature of this 
case is rather unprecedented, 
but it does send a very vivid 
reminder that while we may be 
in a time period of discourse, 
possibly even divisiveness and 
fighting across the nation, law 
enforcement stands united.”

Whitmer 
said 
the 

restrictions initiated during 
the COVID-19 pandemic were 
necessary to stop more people 
from getting sick. Michigan 
has had more than 6,800 
deaths from coronavirus since 
March.

“As 
painful 
as 
these 

losses are, our hard work 
and 
sacrifices 
have 
saved 

thousands of lives. We have 
one of the strongest economic 
recoveries 
in 
the 
nation,” 

Whitmer 
said. 
“Make 
no 

mistake, there will be more 
hard days ahead, but I want the 
people of Michigan to know 
this — as your governor, I will 
never stop doing everything in 
my power to keep you and your 
family safe.”

Carter 
Howe 
and 
Leah 

Graham contributed reporting.

Daily News Editor Barbara 

Collins 
can 
be 
reached 
at 

bcolli@umich.edu. Daily Staff 
Reporter Emma Ruberg can be 
reached at eruberg@umich.edu.

Keith 
Soster, 
director 

of 
student 
engagement 
of 

MDining, said he has always 
been 
a 
sustainability 
geek. 

However, working in this role 
heightened 
his 
interest 
in 

MDining’s efforts to merge 
food and sustainability. 

MDining’s 
latest 

sustainability collaboration is 
with Michigan Apple Crunch, 
a regional program focused on 
promoting the consumption of 
the Midwest’s local produce. 
The program began about six 
years ago.

“It’s an opportunity for us 

to celebrate all the different 
foods that we can grow in the 
Midwest,” Soster said.

Michigan 
is 
the 
second 

most crop diverse state in the 
country, just behind California. 

Soster said students of all 

ages can open up their minds to 
what is possible as far as local 
and seasonal food. He wants 
to change people’s tendency 
to gravitate toward the “most 
perfect apple” when walking 
into stores like Kroger. 

Soster referenced a student 

group blind taste test several 
years 
ago 
where 
students 

sampled two apples — one from 
Kroger, the “perfect” apple, and 
the local one with blemishes. 
Blindfolded, everybody chose 
the local and sustainable apple. 

“When we buy local and eat 

local and sustainable food, it’s 
gonna taste a whole lot better,” 
Soster said. 

The Michigan Apple Crunch 

initiative is just one example 
of ways that people can engage 
with the local harvest. Getting 
students involved with food 
sustainability 
on 
campus 

is 
really 
about 
increasing 

awareness, Soster said. 

“Being able to show in their 

dining halls where the food 
that is grown at the campus is 
utilized in our menu, I think is 
important, too,” Soster said. 

Public Policy senior Grace 

Hermann, who studies food 
systems 
and 
agricultural 

policy, said programs like this 
could help college students 
learn more about sustainable 
food practices.

“I grew up in a house where 

we ate meat nearly every day and 

never really considered what 
the implications of that were 
until I got to college,” Hermann 
said. “I also think that a lot of 
students may lack knowledge 
surrounding diets that are not 
focused around meat, may not 
have been exposed to certain 
foods or may have just never 
considered how their diet and 
consumption habits play a role 
in environmental issues.”

LSA junior Brian Devorkin 

works with Soster to bring 
this 
knowledge 
of 
food 

sustainability and wellness to 
the student body, partnering 
with local farmers to build 
relationships. He said Soster’s 
passion helps fuel students’ 
interest in sustainability.

“They 
build 
the 

(relationships) because of the 
personalities they bring to the 
table, and just the connections 
and 
the 
professionalism,” 

Devorkin said. “The chefs are 
just awesome. He (Soster) has 
so many connections and so 
many people that would love 
to help out, and just love his 
mission.”

Though 
Michigan 
Apple 

Crunch 
is 
MDining’s 

latest 
project, 
the 
team’s 

sustainability and food security 
initiatives have been in motion 
for years. Others include the 
Campus Farm, founded in 2012, 
and Sustainable Mondays. 

Hermann 
lived 
in 
East 

Quad 
Residence 
Hall 

her first two years at the 
University 
of 
Michigan 

and 
praised 
Sustainable 

Mondays for introducing more 
environmentally 
friendly 

options to the dining halls. 

“Efforts 
like 
that 
by 

MDining 
to 
decrease 
meat 

consumption 
and 
provide 

students 
with 
alternative 

options 
are 
important 
as 

well,” Hermann said. “Based 
on 
my 
conversations 
with 

folks from MDining from my 
class, I believe they also try 
to source from local farmers 
when possible, which is good 
for our local economy as well. 
Though UMich is far from 
perfect, all of these efforts do 
help the University be a better 
community member.”

Another challenge is making 

sustainable food options more 
widely available for students 
regardless 
of 
socioeconomic 

background. 
This 
included 

adding 
paid 
positions 
to 

Campus 
Farm, 
therefore 

allowing low-income students 
to become involved in campus 
food sustainability.

In the past year, Soster helped 

spearhead the North Campus 
Food Distribution program, an 
effort to make food access more 
equitable across the University 
and decrease food insecurity. 

Another initiative is the Food 

Recovery Network, a nonprofit 
dedicated 
to 
recovering 

leftover food from university 
dining halls and donating it to 
local food banks.

“Any leftover food is basically 

used,” Devorkin said. “It’s not 
thrown away. They kind of 
limit that waste.”

One 
of 
MDining’s 
latest 

iniiatives is carbon tracking and 
identifying the carbon value of 
MDining’s menu items. In 2019, 
Ann Arbor City Council passed 
a resolution to reach carbon 
neutrality by 2030.

“There’s lots of work to 

be done across the campus 
community,” Soster said. “But 
I think dining can lead the way 
and model the behavior that we 

hope others will jump on to.”

Hermann 
worries 
about 

how sustainable food practices 
are often overlooked in favor 
of mass production, echoing 
Soster’s hope for a shift towards 
seasonal and local produce. 

“I think it is really important 

that when we talk about food 
sustainability we approach it 
not just from an environmental 
standpoint, 
but 
also 
from 

an 
economic 
and 
social 

standpoint,” 
Hermann 
said. 

“Food that is truly sustainable 
should also positively support 
our local economies, as well as 
the health, safety and economic 
well-being 
of 
workers 
and 

consumers.” 

Soster and Devorkin said 

MDining’s efforts to create 
more sustainable food practices 
are worth the years of slow 
progress. 

“I 
want 
to 
leave 
my 

contributions to the world and 
my children in a better way 
than I found them,” Soster said. 
“I know that sounds kind of 
corny, but it’s true.”

Contributor Nina Molina can 

be reached at nimolina@umich.
edu

MDining partners with Michigan Apple Crunch

Accused men planned to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, six additional men face federal charges

Partnership works to provide sustainable, locally-sourced food options, encourage students to change nutrition habits

NINA MOLINA

For The Daily

BARBARA COLLINS 

& EMMA RUBERG 

Daily News Editor & Staff Reporter

Board of Commissioners candidates present platforms

Three nominees participate in event hosted by League of Women Voters, discuss plans to address inequality and COVID-19

Candidates 
for 
the 

Washtenaw County Board of 
Commissioners detailed their 
platforms in videos uploaded 
Tuesday. 
They 
discussed 

priorities for the county amid 
the COVID-19 pandemic and 
pressing issues facing local 
governments.

The 
University 
of 

Michigan 
Central 
Campus 

and the surrounding area are 
represented by Commissioner 
Jason Morgan, D-District 8, 
who is running for reelection 
and 
currently 
serves 
as 

the chair of the Board of 
Commissioners.

The videos were posted by the 

League of Women Voters of the 
Ann Arbor Area, a nonpartisan 
organization 
aiming 
to 

increase participation in local 
government and educate people 
on the democratic process.

Morgan is running against 

epublican Joan Knoertzer, who 
was invited but did not attend 
the 
event. 
The 
candidates 

challenging 
Commissioner 

Katie Scott, D-District 9, who 
is up for reelection in District 
9, 
and 
Democrat 
Caroline 

Sanders, who is running in 
District 4, did not attend the 
event either. Because Morgan, 
Scott and Sanders did not have 
opponents present to debate, 
they participated together in 
one event. 

Douglas Allen moderated the 

conversation.

“The world has changed a 

great deal since most of you 
decided to run for office,” Allen 
said. “The global pandemic, 
ensuing economic collapse and 
more recently the Black Lives 
Matter Movement have focused 
attention on how these matters 
highlight the disproportionate 
burdens shouldered by the poor, 
the elderly and communities of 
color. These present challenges 
to government at all levels.” 

Morgan said the board is 

trying to accelerate its work 
to address inequality. He said 
he has a series of priorities he 
hopes to address in the future, 
among them addressing climate 
change and confronting social 
and racial injustice.

“I think the budget is where 

we do that work,” Morgan 
said. “... It sometimes makes 
things 
uncomfortable 
when 

we say we need to really truly 
address racial inequity and 
reallocate some funds from 
some areas of the county, but I 
think that’s what we’re talking 
about here and how we achieve 
real, structural change in our 
community going forward.” 

Scott, who also represents 

parts of Ann Arbor, is the 
current 
Ways 
and 
Means 

Chair. She said many of the 
most pressing issues the board 
will face following the COVID-
19 pandemic are related to the 
budget. Scott said feedback 
from county residents will be 
essential in putting the budget 
together.

“I’m not the first person 

to say this, but I believe the 
budget is a moral document 
and we will have to be thinking 
about what our morals are, 
what our priorities are, to do 
that budget,” Scott said.

Sanders 
said 
resource 

allocation will be a pivotal 
issue.

“We will have to put greater 

emphasis on the priority of 
putting people first and in 
making sure that we not only in 
word but in deed prove by our 
actions and our allocations that 
we are interested in protecting 
those 
that 
are 
the 
most 

vulnerable first and others as 
needed,” Sanders said.

Morgan 
discussed 

Michigan’s ongoing challenges 
with clean water, particularly 
with 
toxic 
per- 
and 

polyfluoroalkyl 
substances, 

also known as PFAS. 

PFAS, which has been found 

in 
the 
Washtenaw 
County 

water supply, is a group of 
manmade 
chemicals 
used 

in 
manufacturing. 
These 

chemicals can cause a variety 
of 
negative 
health 
effects, 

including cancer and changes 
in the immune system. 

“I 
think 
the 
protection 

of our water is the biggest 
environmental 
concern 
in 

our community at this time,” 
Morgan said. 

The 
participants 
also 

discussed 
homelessness 
in 

Washtenaw County. In March, 
when 
COVID-19 
began 
to 

spread, the county paid for hotel 
rooms for people experiencing 
housing 
insecurity. 
Morgan 

said he would work to continue 
this support.

“The 
biggest 
thing 
is 

ensuring that we have a way 
to keep those who are in our 
shelters safe and fed … We’re 
still working on it but I’ve heard 
the message from residents 
loud and clear that we need to 
keep our homeless community 
safe,” Morgan said. 

In her closing statement, 

Scott said she is passionate 

about her work in the county 
and advocating for people.

“One of the things this 

pandemic has really shown 
us is the underpinnings of 
inequality in not only our 
country, but in our county as 
well,” Scott said. 

Morgan said his personal 

experiences 
informed 
his 

approach to governing.

“The one thing we don’t 

really get to do as public 
officials as often as you would 
think is share who we are as 
people,” Morgan said. “... As 
a young LGBTQ individual 
growing up in this community 
… paired with growing up with 
a disability has shaped a lot 
of my experiences and how I 
approach 
government. 
And 

it’s really the reason I am here 
doing this job today. I am here 
because I care about making 
people’s lives better.”

Daily Staff Reporter Emma 

Ruberg 
can 
be 
reached 
at 

eruberg@umich.edu. 

EMMA RUBERG
Daily Staff Reporter