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FBI Belly Flops in Michigan Governor Kidnap Case
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FBI Belly Flops in Michigan Governor Kidnap Case

‘Wolverine Watchman’ investigation exposed FBI missteps to a skeptical Michigan jury

Jonathan Broder
Apr 11
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There is a lesson for the FBI in the Justice Department’s belly-flop in the Michigan governor kidnap case: Do better.

Dragging anti-government white men before a jury of their peers from rural America is a lot harder than nailing Muslims before a Christian panel anywhere.

 In the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year, the Biden administration ordered Justice to shift its focus from fighting foreign terrorists to combating domestic terrorism. While the government’s counterterrorism priorities have changed, its methods have remained the same —using informants to identify would-be domestic terrorists, then provide the means—and in some cases—specific suggestions and advice – to advance a terrorist plot to the point where the FBI rides in to collar the alleged plotters.  

But in one of the country’s highest-profile domestic terrorism cases, jurors in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last week acquitted two men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and deadlocked…

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A guest post by
Jonathan Broder
A veteran reporter, editor and foreign correspondent, Broder writes about defense and foreign policy from Washington.
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