Brandon Caserta, a former member of the Wolverine Watchmen, said that no one would be charged if it wasn't for the fact that the government was engaged in the alleged conspiracy.
“People say things that are offensive and, you know, may sound violent, but there’s a difference between actually physically doing violence or just being around a group of people and talking crap,” Caserta said, according to Local 4. “If the government weren’t involved in this situation, it would have never gotten to where it is now.”
“I don’t know if you feel like you won the lottery or just got called to the principal’s office. But either way, welcome,” U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker told dozens of prospective jurors at a federal courthouse in Grand Rapids, the Associated Press reported.
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"This is not a political forum," Jonker said, adding that jurors must not convict or acquit the defendants based on "whether you like Gov. Whitmer or dislike Gov. Whitmer."
Caserta, who has posted videos with an anti-government approach that he claims is "all talk," summoned the Fifth Amendment in the retrial of Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox. A federal judge ordered a retrial for the men after a jury failed to reach a verdict during their first trial in April. Caserta and another member of the watchmen were found "not guilty" on all charges last spring.
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Two men, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and testified against Fox and Croft Jr., according to News Channel 3. The defense stressed that no action had been done to act on the plot. Nevertheless, prosecutors claimed that surveillance of the governor's home and a mock-up of her summer home constituted "action."
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“These defendants were outside a woman’s house in the middle of the night with night-vision goggles and guns and a plan to kidnap her," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said in his closing arguments Monday. “And they made a real bomb. That's far enough, isn't it?”
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The defense also suggested that undercover informants for federal law enforcement further provoked anger in the men, according to the Associated Press.
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Whitmer said over the weekend that she had not been following the retrial but was concerned about violent rhetoric in the country.
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“This is a dangerous trend that is happening,” Whitmer said at the Michigan Democratic Party’s convention. "We cannot let it become normalized, and I do hope that anyone that’s out there plotting to hurt their fellow Americans is held accountable.”
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The jury is expected to initiate its deliberations Monday after both sides present closing arguments. A verdict is expected later this week.
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