Fox17 William Null, charged in a militia plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, appears onstage alongside Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf at an anti-lockdown rally on May 18, 2020, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. One of the men charged this week in a militia plot to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan shared the stage earlier this year with an extremist sheriff at an anti-lockdown rally, highlighting the often cozy relationship across America between law enforcement and violent right-wing paramilitary groups. Last month, Cooper published a map showing 401 documented “constitutional sheriffs” across the U.S. since 2013, 161 of whom are currently in office. Such groups have also enjoyed the endorsement and encouragement of the Trump administration, which shares militia groups’ bigoted and conspiratorial views about Muslims and immigrants.

Source: Huffington Post October 09, 2020 18:00 UTC