President Trump’s campaign was supposed to hold an event Tuesday at a Michigan gun range that previously employed one of the 13 men recently charged with plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Huron Valley Guns announced Monday it would no longer host the event at its store in New Hudson, however, and said it will take place at a conference center in nearby Novi instead.
In a Facebook post, Huron Valley Guns explained that one of the men arrested and charged last week in the alleged plot involving Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat, briefly worked at its range.
“In February 2020 we had a young man that worked on the range who would show up for work in a LOT of tactical gear,” the post said. “We found that a little odd. We weren’t comfortable with him for a few other reasons and fired him after 3 weeks. He ended up being one of the fringe characters arrested for the Governor Whitmer kidnapping.
“The Governor would have had a field day against the Trump campaign. They would accuse the administration of sending his son to a facility where terrorists work and train. This could not be further from the truth, but imagine the left spin,” the post read in part. “While we are completely disappointed, we would not want anything to hurt the chances of President Trump. So for that, we are glad this came out before the event occurred.”
A senior Trump campaign spokesperson told The Washington Times on Tuesday that there had been a change of venue and noted that several other similar events have been moved in recent weeks.
Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, was scheduled to attend the event at Huron Valley Guns and is now set to appear at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
Prosecutors charged the 13 men last week in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap Ms. Whitmer and attempt to overthrow the government.
Huron Valley did not identify the former employee it said was among the accused.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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