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GRAND RAPIDS, MI A former U.S. Army sergeant, he joined a militia, Wolverine Watchmen, which was suggested by Facebook because of his support for the Second Amendment and his Libertarian views.

After a vetting process like a job interview, he said he soon contacted the FBI and turned informant against defendants accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The informant, injured in 15 months of combat in Iraq, said Friday, March 18, that he rejected the militia when members talked about obtaining addresses for law enforcement and killing police officers.

Known as CHS Dan, the confidential human source gave jurors in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids a close look at the defendants alleged actions, from plotting the kidnapping to live-fire drills and reconnaissance missions to Whitmers lakefront summer home in Elk Rapids.

There, they surveilled her property, and used night-vision goggles across the lake to determine if they could see headlights going past her home. His testimony came during the second week of the federal trial against four men accused in the plot to kidnap the governor.

CHS Dan also recorded chilling conversations.

Related: FBI, informants drove plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer, charges should be dropped, defendants say

Barry Croft Jr., a Delaware man aligned with a group calling for U.S. civil war, was heard telling others that Whitmer who angered the defendants with COVID-19 shutdowns should be tried for treason.

Treason is a hanging offense, he said, on the recording.

Adam Fox, a Grand Rapids-area man and leader, said he expected the kidnapping to trigger a wide uprising in major cities and having to live as a survivalist up north.

He said he wanted to make the world glow, a recording showed.

If we cant have our world, then they cant have theirs, he said, in the recording.

The jury trial, before Chief U.S. District Court Robert Jonker, is scheduled to resume on Monday with Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler finishing his questioning of the informant, who then faces cross examination by the defense.

Related: Defendants in alleged Gov. Whitmer kidnap plan claim innocence, entrapment

He has been accused of pushing the defendants to take part in the planning before they were arrested in early October 2020.

Fourteen men, most with ties to Wolverine Watchmen, have been charged in state and federal courts.

Croft, Fox, Daniel Harris of Lake Orion and Brandon Michael-Ray Caserta of Canton are on trial in federal court. Ty Garbin of Livingston County and Kaleb James Franks of Waterford have pleaded guilty to a federal charge conspiracy to kidnap and will testify.

The others face state charges.

CHS Dan, who works for the U.S. Postal Service, was with the alleged conspirators throughout meetings and training exercises.

The defense said he earned $54,000, including $6,000 for expenses, for his work with the FBI. But he said he earned far less than he would have at the Postal Service. He said he feared for his daughters safety and had to move from his home after one of those aligned with the group discovered his home address.

The informant disputed defense contentions that their gatherings were family outings, despite sounds of children in the background and splashing in the pool. The children were usually kept away from the others, he said.

Related: I will die a saint, covered in blood, alleged leader of Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot said in FBI recording

He said that Fox, who lived in the basement of Vac Shack in Wyoming, once held a meeting there. The Vac Shack owner said earlier he let Fox stay there because he had no place to go but he would have kicked him out if he knew what was going on.

The informant said Fox, who offered multiple plans for kidnapping Whitmer, had concerns about Croft, the other leader. Fox did not know him well and feared he was an informant.

Croft, meanwhile, appeared to have a violent streak that concerned other defendants, testimony showed.

He is an alleged member of the Boogaloos, described by the FBI as a far-right, domestic-terrorism movement that believes the U.S. is headed for civil war. He said in a phone call that we can be the pioneers of history .

In 100 years, he said, people would forget this name but remember that dude from Delaware.

Caserta was upset about the government having control over us, the informant said.

Harris was interested in explosives. Harris also held a meeting at his Lake Orion home where everyone had to provide identification to confirm identities.

He also encouraged use of encrypted chats on applications from outside the U.S. He believed it would keep law enforcement from obtaining search warrants for their accounts.

The attorneys for the defendants said they were big talkers and would not have kidnapped the governor. They have noted that during a trip to the governors home, they had the wrong address and couldnt find the house. They liked to smoke marijuana and drink while discussing their plans, as well as their anger at the government.

Fox was excited when they found her home, especially when he ran into a boat launch across the lake.

Perfect. No Coast Guard.

From there, he said, they would take the governor in an all-terrain vehicle to a boat on the shore of Lake Michigan.

The Big Lake is the best option, he said.

He laughed as he told others they would hog-tie the governor and pose for photos around her.

He said he would say: Aint so funny when you aint got all the power, is it?

A month or so before arrests went down, Fox allegedly told others they needed supplies, such as flashbang grenades, or concussion devices, flexible handcuffs and a black hood to cover the governors head. He said they also needed $4,000 for explosives to blow up a bridge by Whitmers house to slow police response, testimony showed.

The man who was to supply the bomb was actually one of two undercover FBI special agents taking part in the investigation.

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Man who joined militia was alarmed by cop-killing talk, turned informant in Gov. Whitmer kidnap case - MLive.com