FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky’s governor, who was hanged in effigy during a spring protest against his COVID-19 restrictions, referred to militia groups as “threats to our nation” Thursday as he responded to an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor that the FBI says was thwarted.
At the start of his coronavirus press conference, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear condemned militia groups and called on political leaders to be united in denouncing them.
He spoke after six men were charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The men had consulted and trained with members of a group that federal authorities described as a militia, according to an FBI affidavit.
“These groups are not freedom fighters,” Kentucky’s Democratic governor said. “They are terrorists. They’re not security forces. They are threats to our nation.”
In May, armed protesters in Kentucky chanted outside the governor’s mansion and Beshear was hanged in effigy from a tree on the state Capitol grounds during a demonstration. It was billed as a rally in defense of constitutional rights but turned into a protest against his coronavirus restrictions.
Also in the spring, a Kentucky man was charged after being accused of making threats against Beshear and Kentucky State Police troopers.
Responding to the alleged threat against a fellow governor, Beshear said Thursday that he didn’t see the need to bolster security at the Kentucky Capitol or for himself “at this time.” He praised his security team for doing a “phenomenal job” and for its willingness to “put their health on the line” for his family. He added that “we feel good” about security at the Capitol.
At the spring demonstration, protesters crossed barriers to reach the front porch of the governor’s mansion, across the street from the Capitol. The protesters chanted for Beshear to come outside. No one came to the door, as state troopers monitoring the rally got out of their vehicles to observe the group but not intervene, the Courier Journal reported. Beshear later referred to the protesters as a mob that resorted to “fear and terror.”
As in the spring, Beshear said Thursday he won’t be intimidated by threats as he leads the state.
“Those that want to try to use fear to get me or others in this government to do the wrong thing, that is not going to work,” he said. “I ran for this job to do the right thing, and I’m not going to let people bully me. If I did, they would try to bully everybody else in this state. If the governor won’t stand up to you, who knows what you can get away with.”
Beshear said there needs to be a stronger focus on threats from domestic terrorism. He also urged politicians to band together to “in one voice denounce all of these groups.” The protest that resulted in Beshear being hanged in effigy drew bipartisan condemnation. But a handful of Republican lawmakers had attended a previous rally.
“There are no two sides to it,” Beshear said Thursday. “There should be no state leaders or lawmakers pandering to these violent extremists. No posing for photos. No speaking at their rallies, because wrong is wrong.”
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