Members of anti-government paramilitary groups discussed kidnapping Virginia governor Ralph Northam during a June meeting in Ohio, an FBI agent testified on Tuesday during a court hearing for a group of men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor. Special agent Richard Trask also revealed new details about investigators’ use of confidential informants, undercover agents and encrypted communication to arrest and charge six men last week in the plot aimed at Gretchen Whitmer. Tuesday’s hearing was to review investigators’ evidence against Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta and to determine if they should be detained before trial. The men are all from Michigan. A sixth man, Barry Croft, was being held in Delaware. The FBI discovered the 6 June meeting in Dublin, Ohio, during an investigation of various anti-government groups, leading to the case in Michigan that foiled the alleged kidnapping conspiracy. It was not immediately clear whether talk of targeting Virginia’s governor went beyond the June meeting, and nothing from a criminal complaint or from Trask’s testimony indicated that anyone had been charged with plotting against Northam, like Whitmer a Democrat. Trask said members of anti-government groups from “four or five” states attended the Ohio meeting, and the complaint noted that Croft and Fox were among the roughly 15 people who were there. “They discussed possible targets, taking a sitting governor, specifically issues with the governor of Michigan and Virginia based on the lockdown orders,” Trask said, adding that attendees were unhappy with the governors’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The FBI alerted key members of Northam’s security team throughout the course of its investigation, but neither the governor nor members of his staff were informed, as per security protocols for highly classified information, said Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky. She said the governor and his family were never believed to be in imminent danger, and that there have been enhanced security measures in place for quite a while. In a statement, Yarmosky said: “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.” Donald Trump urged supporters to “LIBERATE” Michigan, Virginia and Minnesota in a series of tweets in April, encouraging protesters who turned up at state capitols to oppose restrictions aimed at minimizing the spread of the virus. Following the arrests last week, the White House said the president has condemned hate, and Trump tweeted: “I do not tolerate ANY extreme violence.” In the Michigan case, authorities said the men were trying to retaliate against Whitmer due to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power” during the coronavirus pandemic. Some defendants conducted coordinated surveillance of the governor’s vacation home in northern Michigan in August and September, according to a criminal complaint. Authorities said four planned to meet last week to pay for explosives and exchange tactical gear. Whitmer, who was considered as Joe Biden’s presidential running mate and is nearly halfway through a four-year term, has been widely praised for her response to the virus outbreak but also sharply criticized by Republicans and people in conservative areas. The capitol has been the site of many rallies, including ones with gun-toting protesters calling for her removal. Michigan, and particularly the Detroit area, were hard hit early in the pandemic, leading Whitmer to put major restrictions on personal movement and the economy. Many of those limits have been lifted since spring. Fox, who was described as one of the leaders of the plot against Whitmer, was living in the basement of a vacuum shop in Grand Rapids. The owner said he was opposed to wearing a mask and kept firearms and ammunition at the store. Trask, the FBI agent, also testified that Fox said in a post-arrest interview he considered taking Whitmer from her vacation home out on to Lake Michigan and stranding her there, on a disabled boat. Fox did not wear a mask during Tuesday’s hearing. The other four men did; all five wore shackles on their hands and feet. They face up to life in prison if convicted. Seven others linked to a paramilitary group called the Wolverine Watchmen were charged in state court for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan capitol and providing material support for terrorist acts by seeking a “civil war.” The investigation is ongoing.