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Comment by vmception | Hacker News Reader

Can someone explain how they thought taking over a state within the US would do anything?

Like even if they got out of Michigan which has its own militia and police force, along side its own line of succession, the feds would be descending on them from every angle either way and both governments would nullify the takeover attempt.

Can someone explain the line of reasoning here? I've only read headlines and it sounds too dumb to dedicate more thought on. Any summary about why this wasn't as dumb as it sounds would be helpful thanks.

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These sorts of people always think they are the voice of a "silent majority". They think that thier actions will trigger an uprising. All the fat guys with ar-15s will come out of basements and rebiuld the country ... the right way this time. They are, every one of them, deluded narcisists.

They planned to kidnap the governor and then put her on "trial" which is terrorist-speak for murder.

Like most terrorist plots, this one didn't require the terrorists to take over the government.

It's about fear and media amplification of fear to (1) inspire like-minded individuals to join their cause and become terrorists, and (2) intimidate other government officials to fall in line.

thanks, yeah I saw that, earlier headlines were saying something closer to taking over Michigan government

It was as dumb as it sounds. These aren't serious people. Unfortunately, unserious people can still manage to be quite dangerous, if they put their minds to it.

> Unfortunately, unserious people can still manage to be quite dangerous, if they put their minds to it.

Especially if FBI helps them out, like they often do.

The ones that pick up FBI informants and/or undercover agents aren't really the ones I worry about.

> Can someone explain how they thought

They didn’t.

Yeah, they were planning a kidnap-murder of a judge, not some kind of forcible state house coup.

Not that it's any less dumb, or that they're any less dangerous for it.

They were planning on kidnapping the Governor of Michigan.

Oh, right, so they were. Thanks - it's hard to keep this stuff straight these days, especially before coffee.

> Can someone explain how they thought taking over a state within the US would do anything?

There is no logical case to be made, but there is a strong emotional one.

People need to belong and have a sense of purpose. For years, these people have had NRA TV and the militia movements telling them that they and their guns are the only thing keeping America from being destroyed from within. That Patriots like them, who are willing to die for their beliefs, are the only thing that save America.

After armed militia members descended on the Michigan state house earlier this year and demanded to let into the the legislative chambers, not only was there no real consequences, but many people hailed them as heroes, with President Trump himself tweeting his support with "FREE MICHIGAN!!!!"

They were encouraged and supported at every point of their escalation, and now people want to pretend it came out of no where.

Just a group of lone wolves, who happened to be acting together.

On Friday, the Washington Post profiled several members of the group.

"One of alleged plotters, 23-year-old Daniel Harris, attended a Black Lives Matter protest in June, telling the Oakland County Times he was upset about the killing of George Floyd and police violence."

Another alleged plotter, Brandon Caserta, called President Trump a 'tyrant' - adding 'Trump is not your friend, dude.' Caserta notably has an anarchist flag behind him in several videos he's recorded.

The world is not so binary.

Just because one member attended a BLM rally and another was photographed with an Anarchy flag behind him does not mean they were immune to radicalization.

These people are part of the larger militia movement that has been egged on by the factors I mentioned. Whether or not you personally like Trump, having the president of the US cheer your cause is both validating and motivating.

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