LANSING — It started with a Facebook recommendation.

Dan, a 34-year-old Michigan man whose last name prosecutors are withholding for security reasons, testified Friday that he was scrolling the social media site last year when it suggested he join the Wolverine Watchmen group.

An Army veteran and firearm safety instructor, Dan said he was interested in guns and a member of pro-Second Amendment groups. He suspects that’s why the Facebook algorithm suggested he join what turned out to be a radical militia group whose members were preparing for a “Boogaloo” civil war.

He clicked, triggering a months-long odyssey that landed him in the middle of an extremist movement that prosecutors say culminated in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer . For much of the time, he wore a wire for the FB

See Full Page