Twin brothers are being removed from house release despite being accused of plotting to kidnap the governor of Michigan.
Read More: Judge dismisses terrorism charges for men accused in Whitmer plot
Michael and William Null, 38, were allegedly a part of the kidnapping scheme involving Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and were being held on house arrest. But on Wednesday, a judge lifted the brother’s curfew and house arrest restrictions, per People.
“These men were allegedly part of a complex plot to kidnap and harm the governor,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in a statement. “The severity of these crimes and the disregard the defendants display for our institutions of government, warrant close monitoring by the courts.”
The men will still be monitored through GPS tethers. They are both being charged with providing material support for terrorist acts and carrying or possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. They have pled not guilty, per ABC News. but if convicted they could serve 20 years.
Nessel added the men: “will remain tethered as part of the conditions of bond.”
They are allegedly apart of the militia group called Wolverine Watchmen. Other men from the group were arrested in the plot.
Back in October, Whitmer expressed how she felt about the alleged plot against her.
“It was shocking,” Whitmer said to Nightline co-anchor Juju Chang. “It really is something that is so personal and so serious. If you heard this fact pattern and you are describing something like ISIS, you wouldn’t be surprised. This is happening right here in the United States of America. That’s domestic terrorism.”
She added: “We see some of the most vile things. My kids have seen it. We’ve had people show up on the front lawn with automatic rifles on more than a handful of weekends. I’ve been very, very blunt with my kids and my husband about what the nature of the rhetoric was.”
Whitmer became the governor in 2019. When the 2020 pandemic hit she mandated tight restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and angering a slew of conservatives which led to protests and demands to force her out of office.
“People were just absolutely fed up with being told to stay home… [we] couldn’t go to school, couldn’t go to work, couldn’t do anything at all,” said Adam Di Angeli of Michigan United for Liberty, a conservative group that helped organize anti-lockdown protests. “People came and started demonstrating in Lansing. The whole city was filled.”
Some even stormed Michigan’s capitol with guns.
“People remember those pictures… where people with weapons were showing up and intimidating legislators and threatening me at that point,” Whitmer said. “Now, we have come to find that some other members of this plot were actually at that event. And I think that that kind of tells you how the rhetoric really can have horrible, disastrous, dangerous consequences for others.”
She called their behavior “unacceptable,” and “a threat to our democracy and the American dream.”
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She called out leaders like then-president Donald Trump for failing to speak out against white supremacists.
“I think the hesitancy to even call out white supremacy creates space for groups that are looking for anything to hang their hat on,” said Whitmer. “I do think that the rhetoric has made safe harbor for people that are engaged in these activities.”
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