FBI agent: Northam targeted for possible kidnapping
Photo by Eli Wilson/ Shutterstock
Oct 13, 2020
By Jason Schaumburg | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Enhanced security measures for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will remain in place, his office said Tuesday, after it was revealed in court that anti-government groups discussed in June possible kidnapping targets that included Northam.
The Associated Press reported FBI Special Agent Richard Trask testified Tuesday in federal court in Michigan that members of paramilitary groups from a number of states talked about kidnapping Northam and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a meeting in Ohio.
Trask, who did not name Northam by name, was part of the investigation that led to arrests last week in the plot to kidnap Whitmer. He said the members were upset with the governors’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The FBI alerted key members of the Governor’s security team throughout the course of their investigation,” Northam spokesperson Alena Yarmosky said in a statement. “Per security protocols for highly classified information, neither the Governor nor other members of his staff were informed. At no time was the Governor or his family in imminent danger.”
Yarmosky was critical of President Donald Trump in response to the kidnapping revelation surrounding Northam.
Subscribe to our newsletter.
“Here’s the reality: President Trump called upon his supporters to ‘LIBERATE VIRGINIA’ in April – just like Michigan. In fact, the President regularly encourages violence against those who disagree with him. The rhetoric coming out of this White House has serious and potentially deadly consequences. It must stop.”
Trump has not tweeted a response.