Trial begins for final 3 suspects accused of plotting to kidnap Governor Whitmer

Summary:

• The trial has commenced for the final three suspects accused of plotting to kidnap Governor Whitmer.
• FBI Special Agent Henrik Impla, the main investigator, provided crucial information about the case, including maps of the planned attack location and details about the group's operational security.
• Opening statements from the prosecution and defense outlined the timeline of events leading up to the plot and introduced the key players.
• Eric Molitor is expected to testify that he had no criminal involvement and was unaware of the unfolding events.
• Live updates from the courtroom will continue to be provided on the news website and various social media platforms.

The trial for the final three men charged in the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer is now underway. The case in an Antrim County courtroom is against the accused Eric Mulleturm, brothers William and Michael Null, up north lives Daniel Zivian will be in the courtroom throughout the trial. He joins us now live outside the courthouse where this afternoon the first witnesses took the stand.

Opening Statements and Main Witness Testimony

Mark, we did hear a lot today in terms of opening statements from the prosecution and a couple lawyers from the defense. Afterwards, we heard from the main witness. His name is FBI Special Agent Henrik Impla out of the Detroit field office.

He was the main investigator on this case. He told us a lot while we had time. Of course, we were cut off during his testimony, but the exhibits we did see from him showed us a map of the area where the attack on Governor Whitmer was supposed to take place on Birch Lake just outside of Elk Rapids. This also included a plot to blow up the Elk River Bridge in town. Very interesting information. We also heard about how he met up and started this investigation with an undercover agent named CHS Dan. I was concerned about the level of violence and the fact that this group was organized.

They had their own operational security. That's what we call OPSEC. And they seemed to be escalating towards violence. And I was concerned that the FBI didn't have any sort of coverage on them and that an attack could happen before we could stop it. I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of Henrik Impla's testimony.

Opening Statements from the Prosecution and Defense

The opening statement from the prosecution came from State's Attorney Assistant William Rolston. He gave a very broad timeline of the events that happened going back to before COVID and how all of the suspects and also convicted conspirators met each other.

There were two opening statements from the defense, one from Christina Nunzio for the Null Brothers and one from William Barnett for Eric Molitor. Barnett said that Molitor will testify for the jury to explain how he had absolutely nothing to do criminally with this and was rather unwitting in the events that unfolded. Live from Antrim County, Daniel Zivian, Up North Live News. We will continue our live stream from inside the courtroom starting tomorrow morning. You can join us every day of Corp. proceedings live on our website and on any of our social media sites including Facebook, YouTube, and X, formerly known as Twitter.