In 2020, the FBI busted a plot to kidnap Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and arrested 14 suspects. One of the main culprits has now been sentenced to almost 20 years in prison.
Democrat Gretchen Whitmer during a Midterms event last November.
(dpa) A court in the United States has sentenced the second mastermind behind the planned kidnapping of US Governor Gretchen Whitmer to more than 19 years in prison. This was announced by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday in Washington. The other mastermind behind the plot was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday.
A bomb was also involved
The two men were found guilty in August. At the time, the court considered it proven that they had planned to kidnap the governor of the state of Michigan in 2020. In order to put the politician’s security personnel out of action, the use of a bomb was also considered.
A total of 14 suspects were arrested in the case. Several were convicted. However, the two most recent prison sentences imposed are the highest linked to the plans.
At the beginning of 2020, investigators from the American federal police FBI became aware of the group’s plot on social networks. With the help of informants, undercover agents and secret recordings of conversations, the kidnapping plans were finally uncovered in autumn 2020. Democrat Whitmer was reelected governor of Michigan in early November.