A federal grand jury has charged six men with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The suspects are (from top left) Kaleb Franks, Brandon Caserta and Adam Fox, and (from bottom left) Daniel Harris, Barry Croft and Ty Garbin.

A federal grand jury has charged six men with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The suspects are (from top left) Kaleb Franks, Brandon Caserta and Adam Fox, and (from bottom left) Daniel Harris, Barry Croft and Ty Garbin. / Kent County, Mich., Sheriff via AP

A federal grand jury has indicted six men on a charge of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a crime that upon conviction can bring a sentence of life in prison.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced that the indictment was handed up on Wednesday. The men were previously charged by criminal complaint at the time of their arrest in October.

Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks and Daniel Harris, all of Michigan, and Barry Croft of Delaware, allegedly began to plan the kidnapping last summer, conducting surveillance of Whitmer's rural vacation home and practicing the use of firearms and explosives, according to the indictment.

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Tags: michigan militia  kidnapping plot  conspiracy  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer