The FBI informant known as “Big Dan” gave jurors another earful Monday morning about how four men allegedly plotted to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying he tried to de-escalate the situation by suggesting other “crimes.”
Dan testified that accused ringleader Adam Fox wanted to kidnap and kill Whitmer and talked about it all summer, so he suggested instead firing a bullet through a window of the governor’s vacation home near Traverse City and mailing the bullet casing to the house. On cross examination, he also admitted to suggesting ambushing Whitmer while she was returning to her cottage in Traverse City, and blowing her door down.
“(Fox) was wanting to kidnap and kill the governor, so I was trying to de-escalate,” Dan testified while being cross-examined by the defense, noting that he didn’t really believe “that we should put a round through the window.”
The defense was grilling Dan about his role in the group, and about why he suggested “crimes” when one of the rules of his undercover involvement was that he wasn’t supposed to suggest anything.
“But you did make suggestions of ideas and crimes to Adam Fox,” defense attorney Christopher Gibbons, Fox’s lawyer, said to Dan as he was on the stand.
“I may have, to keep my role within the group. I was trying to figure out what kind of platform they had,” Dan responded, noting the idea of putting a bullet through the window was him repeating what another defendant, Ty Garbin, had already suggested.
Garbin has pleaded guilty and plans to testify against the others.
“There are other ways to de-escalate than suggest violence,” Gibbons said.
Dan said that he was trying to come up with suggestions on the fly, and lacked adequate training to properly de-escalate the situation.
“I’m just a regular guy, not a law enforcement officer,” Dan testified.
Gibbons asked if Dan ever suggested other, non-violent forms of protest, including taking signs to protest in front of the state capital in Lansing.
“(Fox) didn’t think that was enough,” Dan said. “Adam wasn’t satisfied with all that,”
Dan added that Fox also “wasn’t satisfied with me suggesting putting a round through the window.”
Hog-tying claim resurfaces
Gibbons also questioned Dan about his communication with his FBI handler, Special Agent Jason Chambers, whose job was to keep tabs on Dan during his undercover work inside the Wolverine Watchmen militia.
Chambers would text Dan words of encouragement after the informant obtained recordings of meetings and phone calls with Fox and others. In June 2020, after Dan successfully coordinated a meeting with the defendants, his FBI handler texted him: “Boom … You are the man.”
Dan responded: “If you guys need it to happen, I’ll make it happen.”
When asked about this comment, Dan explained that he was referring to getting time off from his job as a truck driver for the postal service.
Jurors also heard more testimony about the suspects’ anger over Whitmer’s handling of the pandemic. For example, after the state Supreme Court in 2020 struck down a law that Whitmer used to impose restrictions, Fox texted the group:
“When’s the lynching?” Fox wrote. “She should be arrested now, immediately. Who wants to roll out.”
Fox added: “We can make a citizens arrest of her. Who’s down? Game on. I got cuffs, just saying.”
Then he repeated his other alleged plans for Whitmer: “I still want to hog tie her ass.”
More pot testimony
Gibbons also pressed the informant on Fox’s use of marijuana during field training exercises and reconnaissance trips. The defense has repeatedly argued that the defendants’ frequent use of pot is a sign of their lack of actual gumption to pull off any planned kidnapping.
Gibbons asked Dan to recall his trip with Fox and and another man known as “Barricade,” when the three went to to scout the area near the governor’s home.
“When you picked Adam up (from Grand Rapids), it appears he was smoking marijuana,” Gibbons asked.
Dan said he could not recall.
But he did tell Gibbons that Fox smoked when they picked “Barricade” up from his home, then smoked again in the parking lot of the Red Bull Tavern before getting lunch, then smoked again with a woman they met at the boat launch near the governor’s vacation home, then smoked one more time when dropping “Barricade” off at his home.
Dan testified that he didn’t smoke with the other men.
Defense: Dan broke a rule
In the closing minutes of Gibbons’ cross examination of Dan, he returned to a meeting the informant had with Fox at the “Vac Shack” basement in Grand Rapids on July 27, 2020. He pressed Dan on a discussion he had with Fox about a potential attack on the governor’s mansion on Mackinac Island.
Dan said the two discussed different types of helicopters that could be used in an assault on the residence, although he tried to preface his statement by saying another individual with ties to the group initially brought up the helicopters.
Gibbons told Dan he was only interested in what he actually said, not what others may have said.
The informant named two types of helicopters discussed: a K-Iowa helicopter, which is smaller and typically used for observation; and a Blackhawk helicopter, a much bigger air vehicle used to transport troops and carry out assault missions. He even referenced the 2001 war film “Blackhawk Down” during his testimony.
Prosecutor Nils Kessler objected to Gibbons’ questioning, though Gibbons told the judge that he believes Dan violated the set of admonitions — or rules — determined by his FBI handler agents by discussing attack plans with Fox.
FBI agents will give informants leeway to commit certain acts to avoid raising suspicion, but generally informants are told not to violate any laws. Dan told Gibbons that one of his admonitions was to not suggest or discuss any attack plans.
As Dan testified Monday, Fox, the lone defendant seated in the first row of defense attorneys, stared at the informant. It was a slight departure from his usual behavior during witness testimony, where he had been jotting down notes next to his defense team.
Defense attorneys have argued that the defendants were merely tough-talkers engaged in puffery, and that they had no real plan to kidnap Whitmer, nor did they ever agree to any such plan.
Moreover, the defense alleges that the defendants were entrapped by rogue undercover informants and agents who egged the suspects on and enticed them into saying and doing things that they wouldn’t otherwise, and that the FBI ran the whole scheme.
The prosecution has scoffed at the entrapment claims, saying the defendants were “willing and eager” to carry out their plan, and that they did a lot more than talk about it. They took action, like casing Whitmer’s house, building explosives, buying binoculars, drawing maps and talking in secret chat rooms to hide from law enforcement.
The defense views Dan as the key player in this case. Gibbons
told Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker last week that Dan “has the most to offer.”
Dan became an informant after joining the Wolverine Watchmen militia in March 2020, and discovering what he alleged was an alarming conversation about members killing law enforcement. He went to a local police officer friend, told him what he heard, and the FBI contacted him shortly after and asked him if he would stay with the group undercover.
Dan agreed.
Testimony continues.
Four men are charged with plotting to kidnap Whitmer out of anger over her COVID-19 restrictions.
Informant:Whitmer kidnap suspect wanted to blow up COVID-19 vaccine plants, kill doctors
More: Bombs. Boats. Binoculars: Whitmer kidnap trial heats up as key informant testifies
On trial are Fox, 38, of Potterville, who is accused of being the ringleader; Daniel Harris, 24, of Lake Orion; Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton Township, and Barry Croft, 46, of Delaware. All face kidnapping conspiracy charges; three face weapons of mass destruction charges.
If convicted, each faces up to life in prison.
Two co-defendants, Garbin and Kaleb Franks, have previously pleaded guilty and plan to testify against the others.
Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
