BELLAIRE, Mich. — A Wisconsin man accused of assisting the key figures in a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor pleaded guilty Wednesday to a lesser charge and will cooperate with prosecutors.
Brian Higgins said he attempted to provide material support for terrorism, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of five years.
Higgins was among five men scheduled to face trial later this year in northern Michigan's Antrim County, the location of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's vacation home. They were not charged with the 2020 kidnapping conspiracy but were accused of providing key support.
Higgins, 54, of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, admitted that he drove past Whitmer's property during a night ride that summer while others waited across a lake for his signal. He said he had a camera rigged to his pickup truck. Whitmer was not there at the time.
"I wish to plead guilty," Higgins told the judge, appearing in court by video from his home in Wisconsin, where he has been free on bond.
A ragtag band of anti-government rebels was planning to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat, and trigger a civil war before the 2020 election, investigators said.
But informants and undercover FBI agents were inside the group for months, recording conversations and gathering evidence. The plot was broken up, and the governor was not physically harmed.
Fourteen people were charged in three different courts. The U.S. Justice Department secured convictions against four men in federal court, including leaders Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox, though two men were acquitted.
Three men charged with aiding Fox were found guilty in Jackson County in October and are serving long prison terms.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
