Michigan AG details extremist plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, including plan to burn Capitol building

DETROIT – No one would get out of the Michigan State Capitol alive under the initial plan devised by the accused ringleader in a Michigan terrorist plot, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.

Adam Fox’s “Plan A” wasn’t just storming the building and taking hostages, as officials have already said publicly – it was to get in there and televise the execution of tyrants over the course of a week, with no one coming out alive. Or, alternatively, lock the doors and set the building on fire.

That’s according to a brief filed by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office in Jackson County’s 12th District Court against the pretrial release of Pete Musico, 42, of Munith, who is charged at the state level in connection with a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The brief was filed ahead of Musico’s Oct. 23 bond hearing, where his bond was reduced from $10 million to $100,000. The AG’s office released the brief to the Detroit Free Press of the USA TODAY Network after it confirmed the document did not fall under a protective order in the case.

Musico was released on bond Oct. 30 with a GPS tether, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

The filing further spells out the AG’s accusations, while dipping into those against the federally charged Fox, 37, of Grand Rapids. The accusations, aside from those against Fox, include:

• Musico once claimed to have thrown a Molotov cocktail into a police officer’s home.

• Musico stated he tried to get a Michigan State Police trooper to touch him at a rally at the Michigan State Capitol in 2020.

• The Wolverine Watchmen, the so-called “militia” group now accused in the domestic terrorism plot, was developed after a member “finished” a weapons charge.

• The Wolverine Watchmen had a private Facebook group with rules that included “Boojahidden only, No feds, statist, cops, bootlickers or commies or ethnonationalist.”

• A training exercise plan included taking over a hostile vehicle and ambushes.

Sean Tilton, a federal public defender for Fox, declined to comment, and Kareem Johnson, Musico’s attorney, declined to comment on the filing.

Johnson, at the bond hearing, fought against the perception of Musico as a dangerous man and a flight risk. He said Musico was kicked out of the group for being “too damn soft.”

His explanation and counter-arguments from the hearing can be viewed here. He also countered many of the AG's arguments in a response he filed with the court and released to the Free Press.

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Fox is charged at the federal level with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He is said to have been the ringleader of the effort, which was stirred up over anger with Whitmer’s orders in response to the novel coronavirus and landed on plans to kidnap Whitmer, according to officials.

Musico is accused – along with 26-year-old Joseph Morrison, also of Munith, and reported by media to be his son-in-law – of hosting tactical training sessions on their property. Musico is charged with threat of terrorism, providing material support for terrorist acts, committing a felony as a gang member, and possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony.

A total of 14 men have been charged in the case, eight at the state level and six at the federal level.

Here’s a breakdown of the details revealed in the AG’s filing:

Televised executions and fire

Fox was at the state Capitol building when he spoke of the horrors he wanted to inflict inside, according to the brief from the AG’s Office.

It was June 18 at a Second Amendment rally in Lansing, where accused members of the plot – Fox, Morrison, Musico, Ty Garbin, Paul Bellar and Daniel Harris – and a woman were in attendance.

Fox checked them for “wires” when they met, the brief stated.

He also spoke of his current plan, with two options.

“Plan A consisted of recruiting 200 men and then storm the Capitol building in Lansing while Congress was in session,” the AG’s Office said. “They were to take hostages, execute tyrants and have it televised. It would take about one week and that no one is coming out alive.

“The secondary plan was to storm the Capitol building in Lansing when Congress was in session. They would then lock the entrances/exits to the structure. They would then set the building on fire.”

A spokesman for the AG's Office said references to "Congress" were meant to describe state lawmakers.

Musico countered that it was a “fishbowl” around the Capitol and suggested instead that they look up politicians' addresses and execute a plan there, the AG’s Office said.

Fox invited the group to attend a training in Wisconsin. Musico and Morrison expressed interest.

Johnson, in addressing this conversation in his own court filing, argued that law enforcement didn't step in and therefore found no imminent danger.

"There was no overt action taking by any defendant," he said.

The Molotov cocktail

At a March tactical training at his home, Musico said he’d once thrown a Molotov cocktail into the home of a police officer who pulled him over, the AG’s Office said.

Further details about the incident, including what department the officer worked for, were not included in the brief and the incident is not part of Musico's known criminal record.

“He stated he waited outside the back door of the house and planned to shoot the officer when he came out, but ultimately decided not to,” according to the document.

The Capitol

Wolverine Watchmen members also attended an April 30 protest at the Capitol in response to Whitmer’s orders.

Musico was seen yelling in a media photo.

After that day, Musico said on an encrypted platform that he was attempting to get the state troopers to touch him, the AG’s Office said.

"There was a lawful, peaceful, and political protest held April 30, 2020," Johnson said in his filing. "At that protest, all laws were followed."

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‘Hunt the rich’

Musico and Morrison carried out multiple tactical training exercises at their rural property in remote Munith, including at least one in April and two in June, according to prosecutors.

On April 9, specifically, Musico said during planning for a tactical training that law enforcement could show up, the AG's office said.

“Put your vest on, gear up and hunt the rich,” he said, according to the AG’s Office.

In court, Johnson said this training was not tied to a specific crime.

A detailed rundown of a training schedule for June 14 was included in the AG's brief.

The checklist includes more than 20 exercises focused on three areas: vehicle training, ambush tactics and medical triage.

The schedule begins with "basic fundamentals for the new members" and goes on to list items such as "driver down situation," "taking a (possible) hostile vehicle over," "planned ambushes," "L shape ambush" and "when is the right time to scream for a medic?"

Musico and Morrison are said to have, with full knowledge of Fox’s intentions at the Capitol, hosted another tactical training on June 28.

There, Musico reiterated concerns with Fox’s plan and, again, promoted his own strategy to target politicians, the AG’s Office said.

They were already doing training that would work with a home-targeting plan, the AG’s Office stated.

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Musico also cautioned others against backing out.

“Pete Musico, during a meeting, addressed the group and gave them an ultimatum: the group was heading toward ‘real s---t’ action which required dedication to the group and cause,” the AG Office stated.

“If they had been training to improve their tactical skills, that was OK, but they needed to leave immediately if they didn’t want to be part of what was coming. No one in the group left. … Musico also advised an individual that he was preparing to produce more pounds of C-4 explosives in anticipation of planned events.”

Johnson, in his filing, called the June 28 training lawful conduct. He also said he did not see references to what Musico allegedly said.

"Joe Morrison told leadership that he had a bad feeling about Adam Fox because of his criminal record in that conversation," he said. "The fact that the group did not want to associate with people that had a criminal record establishes that they are not a danger to the public."

There is no proof that Musico actually produced any C-4 explosives, he said.

‘Willing to die’

The Wolverine Watchmen was an exclusive group that demanded its members' loyalty while excluding anyone who recognized the government as legitimate.

“Wolverine Watchmen is a group of Patriots to network and assemble and recruit like-minded individuals," the AG's brief quoted from the group's private Facebook description.

The group was for "boojahidden only." Those considered statists, "fudds" (a reference to the cartoon character Elmer Fudd to describe incompetent gun owners), bootlickers, cops and feds were not allowed, according to the AG brief.

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"'Boojahidden' is a term derived from the term 'mujahedeen' and is a reference to fighters with weapons, gear, and training who are willing to die for their cause," the brief reads.

"Boojahideen fighters are often rogue military members or rogue law enforcement officers who are prepared for the 'boogaloo,' which is a term used for the upcoming civil war, which will result from an uprising against the government."

Other plans

State and federal officials have previously introduced a slew of other ideas and more specific plans about the kidnapping the group is said to have had.

This includes targeting police officers and taking Whitmer out onto the lake and leaving her there.

The 14 men charged have court dates scheduled over the next two months.

Fox faces up to life in prison if convicted of conspiring to kidnapping the governor.

Follow reporter Darcie Moran onTwitter: @darciegmoran.

Follow reporter Joe Guillen on Twitter: @joeguillen

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Attorney General details plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer