A Georgia militia leader dismissed the arrests of 13 men accused of plotting to kidnap the governor of Michigan as an election-year diversion.
In a YouTube video to supporters Thursday, Georgia Security Force III% leader Chris Hill said labeling those arrested in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as militia members was a scare tactic.
“They are using us. They are lumping us into this radical group to scare people into the voting booths to vote for Joe Biden,” Hill said in the 13-minute video. “We’re used as fodder.”
Hill’s far-right group is associated with the broader patriot movement. During the social and political unrest this year, Hill has urged his followers to prepare for a coming “boogaloo,” militia slang for a second civil war. He also has threatened to use his militia to protect President Donald Trump from Democrats.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in Congress last month that “racially motivated violent extremism” and “militia types” as potential domestic terrorism threats.
During the video Thursday Hill described his group as defensive and “constitutional.”
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