Historically, American juries have hesitated to find the nation’s top law enforcement agency guilty of setting up other Americans. But Brandon Caserta had the goods.
On October 13, 2020, a judge denied Brandon Caserta’s release from custody less than a week after federal authorities arrested him at his workplace for conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens, relying mostly on evidence produced by the Justice Department, ruled Caserta posed a danger to the community and would be held awaiting trial.
While acknowledging Caserta broke no law by attending field training events in 2020—exercises organized by FBI agents and informants—Berens focused on texts posted by Caserta in an encrypted group chat that allegedly discussed threats against law enforcement.
