State rests its case against defendants in final Whitmer kidnapping plot trial

ANTRIM COUNTY — As the last of the Whitmer kidnapping trials comes to a conclusion, attorneys for the state brought forward their last witnesses this week, including an FBI informant, a second undercover agent and three law enforcement officials.

Before the attorney general’s team rested its case against Eric Molitor and twin brothers Bill and Mike Null on Sept. 6, they sought to help the jury understand the magnitude of the allegations against the defendants from law enforcement’s perspective.

Appearing in uniform on Tuesday, Sept. 5, was Michigan State Police Captain Darren Green, who was in charge of the physical security of the Michigan State Capitol during a rally on April 30, 2020. Describing the event as “extremely intense,” Green was part of a wall of officers that stood as a human barricade to prevent hundreds of protesters from breaching the interior of the Capitol building.

One of the plans that conspirators discussed in the kidnapping plot was attacking the Capitol building, taking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and killing any law enforcement that got in their way. A photo was exhibited showing Green face-to-face with the gun-clad militia ringleader Adam Fox in the lobby of the building. The Null brothers also attended the rally.

More: Scenes from the final trial in foiled Whitmer kidnapping plot

On Wednesday, Sept. 6, Michigan State Police Sergeant Scott McManus, who was the head of the governor's security detail in 2020, testified. He explained how he was in close contact with FBI agents during the time they were investigating the defendants' actions related to the kidnapping scheme. When the group made their first surveillance trip to the governor’s cabin in Elk Rapids — a trip that Molitor participated in — McManus contacted the governor’s husband and asked him to leave the premises. When the second surveillance trip was made — which included the Null brothers — McManus confirmed the governor’s family was not there.

McManus said the level of threats from this time were historic and changed the way his detail operated.

Elk Rapids Chief of Police David Centala also spoke to the jury. As the nearest police department to the governor's cabin, his officers would have responded had the plan been carried out. Centala lived on the same street as the cabin and noted that the kidnapping plot was taking place in his own "backyard."

Parts of the conspirators' plan involved measures for slowing the response from local law enforcement, including blowing up a bridge and cutting down power lines on the road leading to the cabin. Killing any police officers that got in the way was also a common topic of discussion for the group.

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Aside from McManus, a confidential human source known as “CHS Dan” testified for most of the day on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Dan was a civilian veteran who contacted the FBI after seeing concerning comments on the Wolverine Watchmen’s Facebook page. He quickly became a key informant for the FBI, and was crucial to the creation of the state’s case against the defendants. Dan was paid $54,000 for the approximately 17 weeks that he worked as a source for the FBI.

In cross examination, defense attorneys grilled Dan on his leadership role in the events leading up to the defendants’ arrests on Oct. 7, 2020.

In particular, they highlighted Dan’s role in the firearms training of militia members and participation in the night surveillance operation at the governor’s cottage. Dan had assigned the Null brothers to be lookouts that night. However, Dan testified that he was instructed to do this by Fox.

Agent “Red” was the last from the FBI to testify for the state before they closed, speaking to the jury on Wednesday, Sept. 6. Red was brought into the investigation when militia leaders Barry Croft and Adam Fox began to discuss acquiring explosives.

According to Red, the group’s efforts to use explosives were heightening during the summer of 2020. Members of the militia were actively looking for people who had access to explosives. An initial training session in Wisconsin saw Croft’s unsuccessful attempt to build an IED, but the subsequent session in Luther, Michigan resulted in a successful detonation.

Red was brought into the fold by pretending to be a military friend of CHS Dan’s who had been deployed to Iraq at the same time. Dan introduced him to the Wolverine Watchmen, telling the group that he had special expertise in explosives and that he had knew individuals who had access to military grade explosives.

More: 'Undercover Mark' testifies against Antrim County defendants in Whitmer kidnap trial

According to Red, the FBI “wanted to take control of that (the threat of explosives) and get ahead of it.”

Red attended the militia’s training in Luther in September 2020 and described showing videos of explosions to Fox and Croft in a meeting that also included an undercover agent and two other confidential human sources.

Red described another meeting the following day attended by himself, Fox, Croft, Bill and Mike Null and CHS Dan and another militia member to plan blowing up the Elk River Bridge as well as how to raise $4,000 to purchase explosives.

Red also accompanied the group on the night surveillance operation to the governor’s cabin on Sept. 12, 2020. He provided the group with handheld radios and explained how to use them. He also took photographs of Fox taking photos underneath the Elk River Bridge, scouting locations for the placement of detonation devices.

Exhibits were shown of videos taken by Red during the firearms training in Luther. The people attending the training session were walked through a shoot house, which Red said was a mock-up of the “approach” to the governor’s cabin. In the video, CHS Dan, who is pixilated out by the state, is shown in the center directing gun-wielding armor-clad participants through a dry run, teaching them to not shoot one another when they were ready to train with live fire. Two other videos taken by Red show the Null brothers going through the shoot house with guns drawn.

In cross examination, the defense also questioned Red on his role as a facilitator for the leaders' goals.

Molitor and the Null brothers are charged with providing material support for terrorist acts — punishable by up to 20 years in prison — and illegally possessing firearms.

They are the last on trial out of 14 men who were arrested as part of an elaborate plan to kidnap Whitmer from her Elk Rapids summer cottage in 2020. Their ultimate goal, as described earlier in the trial, was to violently overthrow the government and incite a nationwide civil war.

The historic case has so far seen four men strike a deal to plead guilty, two men acquitted, two men found guilty of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to possess weapons of mass destruction, and three men convicted of felony counts of gang membership, providing material support to terrorism, and illegal weapons possession.

Molitor and his mother are expected to take the stand on Thursday. The jury could go into deliberations as early as Friday, Sept. 8.

— Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231)675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: State rests its case against defendants in final Whitmer kidnapping plot trial