FBI agents infiltrated an alleged plot to kidnap and hurt Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by hiding recording devices in key fobs that captured conversations among undercover informants and accused plotters, according to a court filing late Monday.
A defense lawyer for one of the accused ringleaders, Potterville resident Adam Fox, 38, argued conversations captured by the spy gadget will prove there was no conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer and that the government entrapped five men awaiting trial in a case that has focused attention on violent extremism in Michigan. Defense lawyers are fighting to play the recordings for jurors during a trial starting in March in federal court in Grand Rapids.
“Adam Fox asserts that portions of these same recordings and messages show that there was no agreement between the defendants to commit a crime and that the government through its informants and agents entrapped the defendants into the limited participation the government did induce,” Fox lawyer Christopher Gibbons wrote Monday.
Court records show the key fobs were part of a broader package of spy tools a dozen informants and undercover FBI agents used during an investigation that ended in arrests in October 2020. Prosecutors have more than 1,000 hours of conversations, secretly recorded video and reams of text messages.
Fox’s lawyer was responding less than a week after the FBI and prosecutors tried to distance themselves from a rogue informant, Stephen Robeson, 58, of Oxford, Wisconsin. Prosecutors said Robeson was a double agent who offered to use a drone to commit domestic terrorism and use charity money to finance attacks before being dropped by the government and indicted on a gun charge.
But the FBI knew he was breaking laws while working as an informant and paid the convicted felon $19,328.79 as informants and federal agents entrapped the five Whitmer defendants, according to Fox’s lawyer.
Prosecutors have argued in court filings that FBI agents did not entrap anyone and that the defendants were predisposed to commit the crime and attack other politicians, including Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Key fob cameras are widely available, selling for as little as $38.97 online. Some models feature infrared night vision, motion detection, high-definition video and a hidden USB port.
The filing Monday provided new details about Robeson’s involvement and active role in helping the FBI …….