FBI Burns Their Own Informant Who Was Allegedly The Driving Force Behind Whitmer Kidnapping Plot

The indictment of Wisconsin resident Stephen Robeson, 58, for illegally possessing a high-powered sniper rifle is the latest legal development in a criminal case that has relied heavily on informants and undercover FBI agents to reveal violent extremism in Michigan, legal experts say.

Though prosecutors have secured the conviction of plotter Ty Garbin of Hartland Township and compiled evidence that includes secretly recorded audio, video and more than 13,000 text messages, new criminal charges against a confidential informant could be exploited by defense lawyers.

An indictment after a prolonged period of cooperation suggests the relationship between Robeson and the FBI is destroyed and that prosecutors do not plan on using him at trial, legal experts said. But defense lawyers can try to call him as a witness and attack Robeson's credibility.

"This gives defense lawyers ammunition to create reasonable doubt," said Andrew Arena, former special agent in charge of the FBI office in Detroit. "It could be he broke bad on them during the investigation.

"It's a difficult proposition when you are using these guys. You're telling them don't commit crimes, you're doing everything to keep on top of them. But you're not with them 24 hours a day."

[...] Three sources familiar with the investigation identified Robeson as one of the government's undercover informants. Robeson attended and organized combat training in Wisconsin, participated in a June 2020 meeting in Dublin, Ohio, that served as a catalyst for the kidnapping plot, and he also attended a camp in northern Michigan where accused plotters underwent combat training, according to the sources.

Robeson's name also surfaced briefly during a federal court hearing in January. Joshua Blanchard, the attorney for accused plotter Barry Croft, mentioned Robeson while arguing government informants were the main drivers in the alleged kidnapping scheme.

Croft's lawyer Joshua Blanchard believes the government set up the meeting of militia members last summer in Ohio that led to the Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot, and that the feds paid for attendees' hotel rooms

"The government is the driving force," Blanchard says.

— Robert Snell (@robertsnellnews) January 13, 2021

The one-paragraph indictment of Robeson on March 3 does not mention the Whitmer case, and it was filed five months after FBI agents say they thwarted a kidnapping plot that involved at least 14 people. The indictment alleges Robeson, a career criminal, possessed an Armalite .50-caliber sniper rifle [...]

Defense lawyers have portrayed their clients as tough talkers who were exercising First Amendment rights who never carried out any kidnapping plot.

"If Steve Robeson is at this meeting, he's the person who's driving this and inviting people and funding it," Blanchard said.

Lol, I wrote this article just 2 days ago.

Today, the FBI dropped their own "October surprise" to interfere in the election with this obviously informant-led "plot" to target Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

FBI has been sitting on the case for months.

I called this exactly! https://t.co/zRcGvp4e6N

— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) October 8, 2020

WRITE-UP:

Who Could Have Predicted This? https://t.co/NkAClW3Ptz

— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) October 8, 2020

Last year, he drew public attention for protesting a mask mandate. He was interviewed by a local TV reporter as part of a story about protests at the Wisconsin state Capitol, where protesters spent two hours marching outside Gov. Tony Evers' office windows.

"We understand the virus. We understand what it is," Robeson said during the protest. "Why are we shutting our country down and restricting our movement?"