Eight terrorism case suspects
(Photos: Kent and Antrim County Sheriffs Offices)
Michigan cops are on high alert following the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and kill police.
"The threat is always there but this raises it to another level of alarm when you start to target the officers when they're not in their uniform, not on duty, not working. Now they're tracking you," Bob Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Police Chiefs Association, tells the Detroit Free Press. He's a retired Livonia chief.
"I've never seen any training, where it's a right extremist group, and they're not going to target law enforcement," Stevenson said. "In our training, we view all extremist groups as dangerous.
"A (2010) case involving the Hutaree militia, they planned to kill police and attack officers at the funerals. We're not under the illusion that because someone's politics are left or right that they're not dangerous."
First Lt. Mike Shaw of the Michigan State Police tells the Freep:
"We're cautious. We're absolutely more careful. This is one of the tactics these anti-government, domestic terrorism groups use. Law enforcement is the face of the government. if you're mad at the government, you're mad at the police."
Federal and state authorities last Thursday arrested 13 people in plots to kill cops, nab Whitmer and take over the Capitol.
Andy Arena, former head of the Detroit FBI, tells the paper:
"These people see ghosts everywhere in the shadows. And they go to social media sites that support their theories and drive their anger. Mistrust in law enforcement is a big part of that anger and mistrust."
