in 2020 will get yet another airing in a different court when three men face trial Monday, just weeks before voters consider whether to reelect Gretchen Whitmer to a second term.
Investigators secretly recorded hate-filled conversations about Whitmer and other public officials who were denounced as tyrants, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when businesses were shut down, people were ordered to stay home and schools were closed. Mark Chutkow, a former federal prosecutor in Detroit, said dividing the cases between state and federal authorities made sense.
They plan to sharply question an important witness, Dan Chappel, an Army veteran who said he joined the Wolverine Watchmen to maintain his gun skills but was distressed over talk about attacking police. He agreed to stay in the group andThe men claim they were entrapped by Chappel and his FBI handlers, though Garbin, another likely witness for prosecutors, will knock that down.