One of the men accused of plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday.
25 year old Ty Garbin is the only federal defendant in the kidnapping case to plead guilty. He’s cooperating with the investigation, which is why prosecutors are asking the judge to only sentence Garbin to nine years in prison.
In the prosecution’s sentencing brief, they say Garbin "knew what he had done, knew it was wrong.”
Prosecutors say prior to taking part in the kidnapping plot, Garbin had been a law abiding, productive member of society.
Garbin’s defense attorney is asking for a sentence “well below the federal guidelines.”
The defense says Garbin “will be particularly vulnerable to physical assault or even death in prison due to his cooperation in the case.”
More than a dozen men have been charged in state and federal court in connection with the alleged plot to kidnap the governor and storm the state Capitol Building.
Confidential informants assisted investigators in obtaining evidence of the plot that led to arrests last year.
Attorneys for several of the defendants have argued that their clients were doing nothing more than talk.
But federal prosecutors, citing the group’s actions including including acquiring battlefield weapons, and traveling interstate to plan and practice for the abduction, claim “the plot was more than an exercise in free speech.”
