The F.B.I. and state authorities last week arrested 13 men in connection with a domestic terrorism plot directed against the first-term governor.
BAY CITY, Mich. — The fallout from a failed domestic terrorism plot to overthrow Michigan’s state government and kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has quickly become embedded in state politics and the presidential race in a key swing state during the final weeks of the campaign. Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat who was targeted by an armed group whose alleged members have been arrested, said on Sunday that she remained worried about the presence of right-wing groups in her state, as well as President Trump’s reluctance to condemn them. “I do believe that there are still serious threats that groups like this group, these domestic terrorists, are finding comfort and support in the rhetoric coming out of Republican leadership in the White House to our state house,” she said in an appearance on the CBS show “Face the Nation.” Lee Chatfield, a Republican from northern Michigan and speaker of the state’s House of Representatives, sent a letter to Ms. Whitmer on Saturday, chastising her for not informing the Legislature about the plot, which included talk of storming the state Capitol. “The plot by these terrorists was against us, too,” he wrote. “You knew, and we weren’t even given a warning. We had people working in the building every day doing essential work, and their lives matter, too.” Mr. Chatfield also criticized the way she had spoken about the president and Republican leadership. “It’s time to tone down the partisan rhetoric and turn the heat down as you’ve said. Will you do the same for President Trump?” he asked. “You’ve arguably been his biggest critic this year in the country. You even fundraised this week off this plot, now making it political, which is sad.” But Mr. Trump also has been especially critical of Ms. Whitmer all year, derisively calling her “That Woman from Michigan” and “Half-Whitmer,” and urging supporters to “Liberate Michigan!” after protesters armed with military-style rifles criticized her policies for managing the pandemic. After the terror plot was revealed, he tweeted that Ms. Whitmer “has done a terrible job.” And he complained that instead of thanking him for the federal action in foiling the plot, “she calls me a White Supremacist.
