(Source: MIRS News published 04/14/2022) Republican gubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano is floating a theory that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer worked "with the FBI to fake her own kidnapping."
In the press release, Soldano also asks: "Were you working with the FBI to influence the 2020 election?"
"Gretchen Whitmer's fake kidnapping plot and the ensuing chaos became a key issue for voters leading up to the 2020 presidential election here in the battleground state of Michigan," Soldano said.
Maeve Coyle, spokesperson for Whitmer's campaign, said Soldano's "conspiracy theory is egregious and false."
"Once again, it is clear exactly how dangerous and out of touch with reality he and the entire slate of Republican gubernatorial candidates are as they continue to parrot misinformation and re-litigate an election that was decided two years ago instead of focusing on plans to put Michigan families first," she said.
Soldano reiterated the defense attorneys' arguments that rogue FBI agents and undercover informants pushed the conspiracy, saying it is a "surprise to no one, the FBI and the agency’s informants conceived and pushed along a plot to kidnap the Michigan Governor in an attempt to sow disorder amongst Michiganders and influence the 2020 election."
Soldano said Democrats campaigned on the plot to "instill fear into the minds of Michigan voters."
"As we all saw last week, the FBI conceived a plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer and preyed on Michiganders to push it along," he said. "These events had a direct impact on the 2020 election results in Michigan, one of the most important swing states in the country.
"Did Gretchen Whitmer play a role in these targeted efforts to influence the 2020 election? Was Gretchen Whitmer working with the FBI to fake her own kidnapping?" Soldano asked.
The FBI director at the time is still the FBI director of Thursday – Christopher Wray, who was a 2017 appointee of former Republican President Donald TRUMP.
A two-week jury trial for four men accused of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer ended with acquittals for Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta. The jury deadlocked on Barry Croft Jr. and alleged ringleader Adam Fox, who are also charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Two convicted conspirators, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, who pleaded guilty for their role in the plot, each testified that the group discussed kidnapping Whitmer from her vacation home and were not pushed by the undercover agents or informants.
The planning included field training exercises where some members of the group practiced shooting firearms and two members built homemade explosives, which failed to detonate.
Garbin was sentenced to 75 months in prison while Franks' sentencing is set in June.
