Preliminary Hearings Begin For Men Accused Of Surveilling Whitmer's ...

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ACCESSIBILITYPreliminary hearings begin for men accused of surveilling Whitmer's cottage

by Josh Kurman & Roxanne Werly

Mon, August 29, 2022 at 9:29 AMUpdated Tue, August 30, 2022 at 10:07 AMMichael Null (top left), William null (top right), Eric Molitor (bottom left) and Shawn Fix (bottom right) have been charged with providing material support for terrorist acts as part of an investigation to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. (Antrim County Sheriff's Office photos)Comment on this story0CommentShare storyShare

topics:

• Belleville
• Brian Higgins
• Grand Traverse County,Michigan,United States
• Gretchen Whitmer
• Law_Crime
• Michigan,United States
• Shelbyville
• Wisconsin,United States

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- UPDATE: Five men accused in a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer are in a Grand Traverse County courtroom this week.

Eric Molitor, Brian Higgins, Michael Null, William Null and Shawn Fix have been charged with providing material to support a terrorist act.

All but Higgins also face a charge of possessing a firearm while committing a felony.

Monday's testimony came from FBI special agent Henrick Impola as state prosecutors try to show that the five men had a role in the plot back in 2020.

"All of these things that we’re talking about are going to be based on the Agents testimony of reviewing and recording," said prosecuting attorney Sunita Doddamani. "He didn’t have any interaction with any of these individuals, this is what co-conspirators statements are."

"And this is why if we establish a conspiracy by law, which I’m taking great pains to do here in a step by step manner, that all of those statements matter," Doddamani said. "That’s why we filed our seven-page legal memo."

These are lesser charges so prosecutors decided to try the case outside of federal court.

Once the preliminary exam is done, Judge Michael Stepka will decide if there is enough evidence to sent the case to trial.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for the rest of this week and will resume on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

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GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Preliminary hearings are scheduled to start Monday for five men charged in a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

William Null, Michael Null, Eric Molitor, Shawn Fix and Brian Higgins are expected in court Monday.

There are five days set aside for the court hearings.

Michael Null of Plainwell, William Null of Shelbyville are both charged with providing material support for a terrorist act and a felony weapon charge.

Eric Molitor of Cadillac and Shawn Fix of Belleville are also facing two charges: Providing material support for a terrorist act and a felony weapons charge.

Brian Higgins of Wisconsin is charged with providing material support for a terrorist act.

Brian Higgins, 51, of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, was charged with material support of an act of terrorism, a 20-year felony, according to a statement issued by the Michigan Attorney General's Office. (WWMT/Courtesy Columbia County Jail)

The five men were arrested in October, 2020 following an alleged plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer from her vacation home near Elk Rapids.

The preliminary hearings were put on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions and a request by the defendants to have in-person hearings.

The hearings are being held in 86th District Court in Grand Traverse County.

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