Armed Michigan “militia” members, some who are accused in the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, attended a May 30 Black Lives Matter rally in Detroit. They were on the protesters’ side, the FBI says.
While right-wing, anti-government movements are often accused of exhibiting racist tendencies, court testimony on three Wolverine Watchmen members charged with terrorism in the Whitmer case exhibited support for multiracial causes.
FBI Special Agent Henrik Impola, who’s testified over the last two days in a Jackson County preliminary hearing, questioned whether the motive was to defend protesters or to attack police if violence erupted.
On the first day of testimony, Assistant Attorney General Sunita Doddamani presented various internet memes that the FBI called propaganda used by Wolverine Watchmen to recruit like-minded people online.
They sometimes contradicted themselves.
Among the memes was a pro-Second Amendment image depicting a Confederate flag and another expressing support for Black victims of police violence, including Breonna Taylor and Eric Garner.
An example of the Boogaloo Boys meme that was shared on the Wolverine Watchmen Facebook group page, according to the FBI.
The topic of the BLM rally in Detroit came up during the cross-examination of Impola by Attorney Kareem Johnson, who is representing Pete Musico, 42.
Impola said several members of the group drove to Detroit to attend the rally organized in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
An FBI informant, kidnap plot suspects Paul Bellar and Ty Garbin, as well as others who were openly carrying firearms, attended the rally as a group described by Impola as a “QRF,” a military abbreviation that means “quick reaction force.” It refers to a group of armed personnel who respond to offer support in volatile situations.
“Was it: ‘We need a quick-response team to shoot law enforcement,’ or was it: ‘We need this team to respond and shoot law enforcement if they shoot on our peaceful Black Lives Matter protests,’” Johnson asked the FBI agent.
“In this particular instance, the QRF team was going to shoot at law enforcement if law enforcement shot at BLM protesters or anybody out there,” Impola said.
“That’s a tough one,” Impola said when a follow-up question suggested the men were there for “defensive purposes.”
“Well, let’s break it down, because this is what it’s all about,” Johnson said. “Police officers, law enforcement, monitor citizens while carrying arms ... and generally speaking, law enforcement does not like it when people with guns are watching them.”
Impola responded that the armed men “didn’t have authority to be there for defensive purposes so just being there is a violation of the law.”
Johnson pushed back on that statement, questioning how legally carrying firearms and observing a protest violated the law.
“There’s Michigan state law that prohibits militia activity from infringing on the right of freedom of speech if it’s not sponsored or on behalf of the government,” the FBI agent said. " ... They didn’t have the authority to step in a act as police officers, to police the police...
“They’re certainly acting outside the bounds of a legal militia.”
Michigan law explicitly states militias must follow the governor’s orders, and private civilian “militias” have no right to exist under Michigan law or the U.S. Constitution.
The defense attorney noted that the men didn’t actually enforce anything during the Detroit protest, which began peacefully but didn’t end that way. Eventually, protesters and police clashed. Protesters threw projectiles and shot fireworks at officers while police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the the crowd. No live ammunition was ever fired by police or protesters.
Impola said the crux of his job is to determine whether speech by individuals and groups rise to the level of “extremism” with violent intent.
The FBI agent’s testimony was provided during the preliminary hearing before Jackson County District Judge Michael J. Klaeren for Musico, Joseph Morrison and Paul Bellar, 21, who are three of 14 men suspected in the Whitmer kidnap plot.
Bellar, according to the FBI, is the founder of the Wolverine Watchmen, a militia-type organization that started as a Facebook group. Musico and Morrison were also co-founders.
The trio of defendants later linked up with other members of the alleged plot and conducted armed training exercises and surveillance of Whitmer’s vacation home in preparation for her abduction, investigators say.
The hearing, which is set to resume at 8:30 a.m. Friday, is to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to take the case to trial court.
Closing statements for the preliminary hearing and a ruling are expected later this month.
More on MLive:
Accused kidnap plotters never had a plan, attorneys claim
Militia memes take center stage
Boogaloo Boys not as light hearted as their flowery Hawaiian shirts, FBI agent testifies
The ties that bind the suspects in alleged plot
Alleged kidnapping plot photos, video released
‘Liberate Michigan,’ Trump tweets
Whitmer said Trump is inciting ‘domestic terrorism’
Town alarmed by presence of militia plot
Men trained with guns, explosives, neighbors say
Feds want to share grand jury testimony
‘He can’t believe he got involved’