Columbia County Sheriff Roger Brandner confirmed Friday that the militia group which allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent a weekend training for their plan in the county on roughly two acres near a residence in the town of Courtland.
“Obviously, it’s disturbing that anybody came into our county with a plot to overthrow the government,” Brandner said.
But he said it wasn’t a complex military training ground used. Instead, it was a home in a rural area stretching over about two acres. The homeowners have resided there for many years, he said, and were unaware of the illegal activities outlined in an FBI complaint that took place there in July.
The town of Courtland is on the eastern edge of Columbia County and is bordered by the village of Cambria on the northwest and the village of Randolph on the northeast.
According to the complaint, unsealed Thursday and filed in the U.S. District Court in Detroit, a group of six met at the rural residence to take part in firearms drills and combat training. According to the complaint, one of the men, Barry Croft of Delaware and another group member, tried to create a makeshift bomb with the use of black powder, balloons, a fuse and BBs. They failed to explode the device after faulty construction.
Brandner said there was no large tactical training facility, echoing a sentiment made by Cambria Village President Glen Williams when he said he knew of nothing like that in the area Thursday.
Though there is an anti-terrorism task force overseen by the FBI in Madison that would report concerning activity by groups, Brandner said the department has not had any notifications from that bureau in some time.
Brandner did not provide the location of the home due to ongoing investigation by the sheriff’s office.
“We are looking into additional concerning activity happening at this residence,” Brandner said, adding that the department has been in contact with the property owners in the past, but nothing serious. “Information we have heard since then is very concerning.”
There are no active groups currently being monitored by county law enforcement he said, noting that the exercise by the Michigan-based group took place over just two days and was arranged with the property owners through “a friend of a friend of a friend.”
Brandner added that Columbia County is large and vastly rural.
“That’s why we ask the community to keep us informed and report any suspicious activity,” he said.
Brandner said he was informed by FBI agents that no one within the county is a suspect or a target of investigation regarding the plot to kidnap the governor. No Columbia County deputies have had any legal contact with the six men who were arrested either, whether through a traffic stop, arrest or otherwise, he added.
Columbus house car crash file

A car operated by a suspected drunken driver crashed into a house south of Columbus on Aug. 5, trapping a woman inside a bedroom and leaving the car lodged sideways in the house.
Highway 33 Ice Crash

Among the dozens of weather-related calls to city and county authorities over the weekend, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a crash on Highway 33 near Saddle Ridge, east of Portage, on Monday morning where a man driving with a child in a car seat suffered minor injuries after snow and ice debris blew off the vehicle in front of him, crashing into his truck, with a piece of ice smashing his windshield.
Highway 73 fatal crash file

One woman was killed and several others injured when a semi-truck struck a van pulling a camper on Aug. 11, 2017, on Highway 73 at Highway E in the Columbia County town of Randolph.
Semi crash

A crew with Blystone's Towing works to get a disabled semi off Highway 33 after police say it rear-ended a pickup truck Wednesday afternoon. Portage police and Columbia County Sheriff's Office deputies directed traffic as the afternoon heat turned to a thunderstorm in front of the Fort BP.
Crash kills three

At Blystone’s Towing in Portage, Lt. Richard Hoege of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office explains details of the crash in the town of Pacific on Sunday night that killed the driver and two passengers.
Crash in town of Lodi

Two Lodi School District pupils were taken to Sauk Prairie Healthcare in Prairie du Sac to get checked out for minor injuries, after a car rear-ended a school bus carrying 23 Lodi students Thursday afternoon. The bus had stopped to let students out on Highway 60, just east of Gluth Road in the town of Lodi. At about 3:55 p.m., firefighters from the Lodi Area Fire Department were called to the scene, according the Assistant Chief John Lehr. The firefighters cleaned up debris and spilled fluids. They also directed traffic, which was limited to one lane, for a little less than an hour. The driver of the car was not injured. Although the car was jammed under the bus, and the car’s airbag deployed, the windshield did not appear to be broken. The Lodi Area Emergency Medical Service responded to the scene, as did the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and a tow truck from Ness Auto Sales and Service of Lodi. Another school bus transported the bus passengers away from the scene, and the bus involved in the accident was driven away once the vehicle beneath it was extricated. Citations may be pending, according to the sheriff’s office.
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