Dana Nessel To Congress: Michigan Is 'Ground Zero For Anti-Government Militia Extremism'
Michigan's attorney general told a congressional hearing in written testimony Wednesday that this state has long been "ground zero" for anti-government militias. In a statement to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which is examining a rise in right-wing extremism, she calls for more federal resources to address domestic terror threats.
Here are excerpts from her five-page statement, with subheads added.
By Dana Nessel
Michigan is the original home of the militia movement and no stranger to the threat of domestic terrorism by violent militia extremists.
Just last year, my office charged eight leaders and associates of the anti-government extremist militia, Wolverine Watchmen, with supporting a terroristic plot to kidnap and kill the governor of our state; to hold members of our state legislature hostage in our state Capitol for days before ultimately destroying it; and, planning to harm law enforcement officers who protect and serve our state residents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged another six individuals stemming from the same investigation.
In the same month [last October], my office charged members of "The Base," a white supremacist militia that conducts paramilitary training in preparation for starting a race war in the United States. Its name derives from the literal translation of AlQaeda. Under Michigan law, this extremist militia is a gang, and my office charged them as such when the gang provided the motive, means and opportunity to commit felonies in Michigan.
Read more: https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/28081/dana_nessel_to_congress_michigan_is_ground_zero_for_anti-government_militia_extremism