(WWJ) There could be a plea deal in the works for at least one of the suspects accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A lawyer for Ty Garbin, of Livingston County's Hartland Township, has said his client insisted he had no intention to actually carry out a kidnapping, no matter what Garbin might have said in recorded or online conversations uncovered by federal authorities.
Following his arrest last fall, Garbin pleaded not guilty. Now a federal court filing shows the 25-year-old is scheduled for a change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids next Wednesday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Michigan has so far declined to comment about hearing, in which Garbin could plead guilty to a reduced charge.
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The FBI in October, 2020, said it broke up a plot to kidnap Whitmer by antigovernmental extremists, who were upset over her coronavirus orders.
The FBI said it has evidence that Garbin hosted training sessions at his property in Luther, a village in Lake County, and was an active participant as the plot — also involving using explosives and possibly killing police — developed.
Six men have been charged in federal court in the case. Separately, eight more are charged in state court with aiding in the alleged conspiracy.
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