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You're listening to Chameleon, The Michigan

0:02

plot. Before. You dive

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in if you want to listen to

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the whole story uninterrupted. you can. Unlock.

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with a subscription to the Binge. That's.

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Show page on Apple Pie Gas

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or visit getthebig.com to get access

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wherever you get your podcasts. Okay,

0:27

so. This

0:31

is clearly season seven.

0:33

The Michigan Plot a production of

0:36

Camp Side of. That

0:41

damage. Jackson.

0:51

County Michigan is only an hour west

0:53

of Detroit. But. It's about as

0:55

well as counties. com. The.

0:57

Population here is mostly white. And.

1:00

mostly republican. You. See

1:02

a fair number of Confederate flags and

1:04

track windows and hanging over back porches.

1:07

Gun. Ownership is it just are right

1:09

here. It's part of life. And

1:11

off of the county's rural roads, people

1:14

like to be left alone. It's.

1:16

Out here and one of these roads

1:19

on the outskirts of a town called

1:21

Munis that this part of our story

1:23

begins. On. A couple of acres

1:26

of land next to a little river that

1:28

belong to a young ex marine named Joe

1:30

Morrison. If. You believe?

1:32

the Federal government. This. Place to

1:34

become a training ground for some of

1:36

the most dangerous home grown terrorists in

1:38

a generation. But. Back in

1:41

late twenty nineteen, this was just a

1:43

sleepy homestead. Morris. And lived

1:45

out here with his young wife J. Their.

1:48

Two kids and his in law's.

1:50

Pete. Me as a Co and this

1:52

woman Crystal musica. We

1:55

live in Milan or referees. should

1:57

anything happen and

2:00

I gotta protect my family. I hope

2:02

you know my property better than I do. Cause

2:05

you come after mine, I'm coming after you on

2:07

my property. Crystal

2:10

Musico is an Alabama native. She

2:13

said she survived multiple lightning strikes,

2:15

vehicle accidents, and more than a

2:17

few medical crises. She

2:19

is not someone you wanna mess with. I'll

2:21

tell anybody, I'm redneck, I was like, huh, I

2:24

used to drive a big black Chevy. That pulled over

2:26

a lot in it. I

2:28

grew up with guns. I know how to

2:30

hunt, I know how to fish, I know how to trek. I

2:33

didn't know until I moved up here that you sent your

2:35

deer to a processor. I am

2:37

the processor. Crystal honed all

2:39

these skills to prepare for a future

2:42

of hardship. Back in 2019,

2:44

she and the rest of her family were

2:46

worried about the state of the world. Nuclear

2:49

war, disease, civil

2:51

unrest, but they were also

2:53

concerned about the government. Crystal's

2:56

son-in-law, Joe Morrison, had been arrested on

2:58

a gun charge that year, and

3:01

the family was worried that the government was taking

3:03

away their rights. They were too big as it

3:05

was. We didn't want them sticking

3:07

their nose in our business cause we don't stick our nose in

3:09

theirs. The government is out

3:12

to hurt you if you don't give them what

3:14

they want. The government will try

3:16

to kill you. So

3:20

in late 2019, Joe, along with

3:23

Crystal's husband, Pete, decided to start

3:25

a group, a network of

3:27

like-minded people who would be ready for

3:29

any calamity or act of government

3:31

tyranny. They named the

3:33

group after the vicious little animal that represents

3:36

the state of Michigan. They

3:38

called it the Wolverine Watchmen. The

3:41

group's Facebook page had a warning, no

3:44

bootlickers and no cops or

3:46

Feds. We were supposed

3:48

to be a group to trade

3:50

skills. What if you know

3:52

how to can food and I don't?

3:55

We fought skills. I can teach you how to track

3:58

something in the woods. In snow. or

4:00

regular, you know? And that's what

4:02

it was forced to learn, skills that other people

4:04

had that maybe you didn't. And

4:07

it was to protect.

4:10

If things should happen to go bad, there was a

4:12

group that we could trust. The

4:15

Wolverine Watchmen didn't have to wait long for

4:18

things to go bad. In the spring of 2020, just

4:20

months after the group was formed,

4:23

the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The

4:25

first case I heard about on

4:27

the underground media, in China, I

4:30

knew it was coming this way. You can't

4:32

contain something. It's gonna be everywhere. Crystal

4:35

was right. By early

4:37

March, Michigan had its first cases,

4:39

and Governor Gretchen Wentmer closed schools.

4:42

It seemed like a global catastrophe and

4:44

government tyranny had arrived at the same

4:47

moment. It was time for the

4:49

Watchmen to come together and train for

4:51

what was to come. You

4:53

got this. On March

4:55

22nd, 2020, the Wolverine Watchmen held

4:59

their first training session on Joe

5:01

Morrison's property in Muniz. A

5:04

handful of guys from the Facebook group showed

5:06

up, but the so-called field

5:09

training exercise, or FTX, wasn't

5:11

very organized. They

5:16

were all just shooting in the back, shooting their guns, letting

5:18

off rounds. This is Jada

5:21

Morrison, the wife of Joe Morrison,

5:23

mother of two and reluctant host

5:25

of that first training. Everybody's

5:28

bullshit talking, and they

5:30

were just shooting at like fucking cans and

5:32

bottles in the backyard, shooting trees. They

5:39

actually ended up shooting like two trees down, so. How'd

5:43

you shoot a tree down? Oh, they were lighting it up.

5:46

I didn't know that was

5:48

possible. If you shoot it and it seems

5:50

bad enough, I mean, you shoot it straight across. The

5:53

roughly half-dozen Watchmen who showed up were

5:55

heavily armed with high-capacity rifles and

6:00

sidearms. But it turned out most

6:02

of them were pretty inept. Luckily

6:05

there was one guy at that first training

6:07

who actually knew what he was doing. An

6:10

Iraq war vet named Dan Chappell. Army

6:14

veteran, I was a sergeant. I was in 2005-2010. I was

6:16

in Iraq in 2007-2008. Dan

6:20

Chappell was a stocky 33-year-old with

6:22

a bald head and a close-cropped beard. He

6:25

told the watchmen he had seen a lot of combat. A

6:27

lot of my fighting was up north in the

6:46

US. But

6:48

the story that really wowed everyone? He

6:50

said he'd been part of the quick response

6:52

force that had rescued legendary American sniper

6:55

Chris Kyle. You know,

6:57

the guy from that Bradley Cooper movie. Dan's

7:05

combat resume earned him the watchman's respect.

7:08

He was the real deal. He

7:11

became the lead trainer. I'm gonna listen

7:13

for outgoing fire. So if I'm

7:15

here, bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop bop

7:17

bop bop bop bop bop bop. I know, hey, we can keep sitting

7:19

going back. It sounded like the right thing to do. Having an experienced

7:21

person that can train somebody that has absolutely no idea how to use

7:24

their gun. Makes sense to me. I'll

7:26

go right, I'll go left. Dan

7:32

was very, very, you need

7:34

to learn how to clear houses, you need

7:36

to learn how to, I wouldn't

7:38

even say really start a firefight, but know

7:41

how to be in the middle of one. They

7:44

started playing army, I guess you could

7:46

say in the yard. You're gonna be up

7:48

over high over your shoulder. All this is, is

7:50

not the city shots. I

7:53

would look out and I would just have been crawling

7:55

around the ground doing fucking

7:57

medical training. Honestly, I'm just,

8:00

I'm like, what the hell? Like,

8:02

you guys look honestly fucking retarded, but I'm

8:04

just gonna shut up at that point. The

8:07

watchmen were awed by Dan. They

8:10

were playing Soldier. He really was one. Under

8:13

his instruction, the look of the group changed

8:15

quickly. No longer a bunch

8:17

of dudes shooting and giggling in the woods, they

8:20

became disciplined, determined, and focused.

8:23

And by the end of that first

8:25

training session, Joe Morrison made a fateful

8:27

decision. He asked Dan if he

8:30

would join the watchmen's leadership group and

8:32

Dan accepted. But

8:38

Joe's wife Jada was suspicious of Dan

8:40

from the very beginning. Who

8:42

was this guy? Where did he come from?

8:45

And why was he so eager to help

8:47

out? When you're the

8:49

only one coming, and tactical, like

8:52

all military look, something's

8:54

up. He was

8:56

sketchy. I'm not even gonna lie. He

8:58

was so sketchy. And the first

9:01

time I even met him, I looked at him and I said,

9:03

he's a fad. He

9:06

works with the FBI. I'm not stupid. I mean,

9:08

you can see it. Jada

9:11

was right. Dan was

9:13

a secret informant working for the FBI. The

9:17

bureau suspected that the Wolverine watchmen were

9:19

becoming a domestic terror cell. Dan's

9:22

job was to gain their trust and keep

9:24

an eye on their activities. But

9:26

in the end, he would do so much more

9:28

than that. He would connect

9:30

the group to a radical vacuum store

9:33

clerk, Adam Fox, and

9:35

ultimately to a plot to kidnap the

9:37

governor of Michigan. My

9:40

name is Jessica Garrison. And I'm

9:43

Ken Bensinger. From Campside Media

9:45

and Sony Music Entertainment, this

9:47

is Chameleon season seven, The

9:49

Michigans. Episode

10:09

2. Wolverines.

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March of 2020, Dan Chappell had

11:17

been a civilian for more than a decade. After

11:20

leaving the army back in 2009, he'd

11:22

gotten a degree in criminal justice. He

11:25

managed a gym for a while and worked as

11:27

a firearms instructor. And then he

11:29

had a kid, a little girl, and settled

11:31

into life driving bulk mail deliveries for

11:33

the postal service. Dan's

11:36

army days were far in the rear view, but

11:38

he wanted to keep the skills that he had learned

11:40

there sharp. And one day in March

11:42

of 2020, just as the

11:44

first COVID lockdowns were going into place, Dan

11:47

was on Facebook and somehow

11:49

stumbled across the Wolverine Watchman's

11:51

private page. Dan

11:54

Chappell didn't respond to a request for comment,

11:56

so you won't be hearing from him directly in

11:58

this show. But he later tested the testified

12:00

in court about how he found the Wolverine

12:02

Watchmen Facebook group. I

12:05

was scrolling through one day and it just showed up as a recommendation.

12:09

I clicked on a group. They were pro-Second Amendment. It

12:12

was a closed group, so it wasn't just like

12:14

you could have direct access to it. You had

12:16

to answer a couple questions that they had on

12:19

their page and then an administrator would either approve

12:21

or deny you. Dan was approved

12:23

and led into the Facebook group. But

12:25

in order to train with the Watchmen, he would have

12:27

to download an app called Wire, an

12:30

encrypted chat app that would protect their

12:32

communications from prying eyes. Dan

12:35

joined the encrypted chat where he was asked

12:38

more questions before he could enter. What

12:40

are your political beliefs? What are

12:42

your ideas on the Constitution? I said

12:45

I swore an oath to defend the Constitution, all

12:47

enemies foreign and domestic. And then,

12:49

how do you feel about cops? I

12:52

told them we have an initiative to be

12:55

addressed with both police and kind of homegrown

12:57

discipline. And they brought me into the main chat.

13:03

Dan started reading some of the posts there. All

13:06

of the vetting and secrecy now made

13:09

sense. There was a lot

13:11

of crazy on the other side. Like

13:14

instructions on how to make improvised

13:16

explosives, how to make homemade

13:19

silencers for guns, how to

13:21

modify rifles to make them fully automatic.

13:24

There was a lot of harsh

13:26

talk about hanging tyrants and endless

13:28

memes about killing cops and federal

13:31

agents. I've seen

13:33

a post that was made for want in targeting

13:35

kill police officers. Pete Musico, one

13:37

of the group's founders, was worried that red

13:39

flag laws might go into effect in Michigan.

13:42

Laws that allow law enforcement to seize guns

13:44

from people deemed to be dangerous to themselves

13:46

or others. He said

13:48

he wanted to collect addresses of local

13:51

law enforcement to do, quote, reverse red

13:53

flags. Dan took this to

13:55

mean, raid cops' houses and

13:57

kill them. I always just wanted

13:59

to try. and seeing

14:01

this comment, in my mind's eye, they were

14:03

training. And they're selecting and

14:05

grooming like-minded people that are wanting to do

14:08

violence against law enforcement. Dan

14:11

was shocked and alarmed. He

14:13

called up a friend, a cop who worked in

14:15

a nearby police department, and met up with him

14:17

to show him the encrypted messages. His

14:20

friend said he would run the tip of the chain

14:23

of command. And a few

14:25

days later, Dan got a call from an

14:27

FBI special agent named Jason

14:29

Chambers. He asked if I

14:31

would come in for an interview with him, and I said I

14:33

would. Dan

14:39

met up with Chambers and his

14:42

partner, Special Agent Hank Impala, at

14:44

the FBI office in Flint, Michigan.

14:49

They had COVID restrictions in place, so I could

14:51

not go inside their facility. So we met in

14:53

my vehicle, and then I physically handed my phone

14:55

over to them so they could see the conversations

14:57

that were happening. After looking

15:00

at the Watchman's messages, Chambers asked

15:02

Dan if he would be willing to become an

15:04

informant for the FBI. He would

15:06

attend and observe Wolverine Watchman meetings and

15:08

trainings, and report back on what he

15:11

says. Dan was hesitant.

15:13

He was worried about his safety and

15:15

the safety of his young daughter. But

15:18

in the end, he agreed. He

15:20

said he felt it was his duty to protect the public

15:22

from harm. But maybe,

15:25

he also missed having a little action in his

15:27

life. Dan

15:32

showed up for the Wolverine Watchman's first training.

15:35

He would report back to the FBI on some

15:37

of the screwballs who showed up. There

15:40

was Joe Morrison, a 25-year-old ex-marine who

15:42

owned the property and founded the group.

15:45

I mean, if we're doing this

15:47

military style, four hours by and

15:49

fucking schedule it. Joe

15:52

was an adherent of the Boogaloo movement, the

15:54

guys who wore Hawaiian shirts under their gear

15:56

and believed a second civil war was coming.

16:00

Online, Joe went by Boogaloo Bunyan

16:02

and posted dark things like, you

16:05

trained me to serve you. Now I will

16:07

destroy you. But

16:09

at trainings, he seemed to be balancing the

16:11

watchman with a complicated

16:13

domestic situation. Babe,

16:17

any kids sleeping? Any

16:19

kids sleeping? No, look at mom and dad's

16:21

bedroom. Joe would often shuttle

16:23

between the training and the house, trying

16:26

to keep his wife, Jada, happy.

16:29

Hey, next time, Sandy, you're a cutie.

16:32

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We got a kiddo out here,

16:34

man. Dan would later

16:36

tell the FBI that Jada was,

16:38

quote, absolutely crazy and smelled like

16:40

marijuana during the tactical training, where

16:42

she fired a crossbow. Then

16:45

there was Jada's mom, Crystal. Dan

16:47

noted that Crystal carried a big knife on

16:49

her at all times. And

16:52

then there was Pete Muzicombe, maybe the

16:54

nuttiest of the bunch. Somebody

16:57

get chopped in. In

17:00

his day-to-day life, Muzico worked odd

17:02

jobs. HVAC and RV

17:04

repair, chimney sweeping. Muzico

17:06

was the oldest of the group, aged

17:08

beyond his years at 42, with a

17:11

shaved head and a scraggly beard. His

17:14

nickname was Grandpa, but a lot of the

17:16

guys just called him Crazy Pete. Federal

17:19

officers have kicked your door in on your

17:21

house. I got

17:24

that little brother in his

17:26

jaw. Pete was the

17:28

guy who had talked about hunting down cops

17:31

on the encrypted chat. He told

17:33

everyone at the training that he went through

17:35

a Molotov cocktail at the house of a

17:37

cop who pulled him over. And

17:39

he told Dan he had cashless guns

17:42

buried all over his yard, not

17:44

to mention booby traps, for if the

17:46

feds ever showed up. Right

17:49

below the bat. Dan

17:56

had been worried about the violent things these guys

17:58

were saying in the encrypted chat. Now

18:01

he was hearing them in real life,

18:03

punctuated by gunfire. He was

18:05

there to observe it all and report it back to the

18:07

FBI. But he started to worry

18:10

the group might accidentally shoot someone. The

18:12

Watchmen were doing target practice in an open field

18:15

near the highway. Dan had them move

18:17

deeper into the woods so they wouldn't kill

18:19

a passing motorist. And after

18:21

a few minutes, he jumped in and started leading the

18:23

drills himself. Right away, the guy started to

18:25

trust him and look up to him.

18:27

And that would make his job as an informant

18:30

much easier. Dan

18:32

Chappell joined the leadership of the Wolverine Watchmen at a

18:35

pivotal moment. The day after the Watchmen's first

18:37

training, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a

18:40

stay-at-home order. If

18:42

we all do our part and simply stay home, we have

18:44

a shot at helping our healthcare system

18:46

meet our needs. Michigan

18:50

was on lockdown. In the Wolverine Watchmen's encrypted

18:52

chat, nervous conversations were happening. Members

18:56

talked about stacking up on guns and ammo, about the

18:58

panicked people buying all the toilet paper, about

19:02

the authoritarian nature of the lockdown. In

19:06

the ensuing weeks, Governor Whitmer issued

19:08

more executive orders. And then she became the

19:10

topic of a harsh conversation led by Pete Musico in

19:12

the group chat. Our

19:16

governor is a tyrant. This

19:20

fucking cunt. Anyone know where

19:23

Gretchen lives? I'm hungry. I want to

19:25

hunt. What is your line in

19:27

the sand? Getting

19:30

awfully close to my line. Gretchen's

19:33

gotta go. The Watchmen didn't know

19:35

it, but they were the ones being

19:37

watched. The FBI was monitoring all their encrypted chats. The

19:42

legislator just stopped at my

19:45

girl's restaurant and told her that Gretchen's extending the

19:47

order until the end of May. I swear to

19:49

God, if this is true, I'm gonna mall to

19:51

her fucking house. So fucking done with her. The

20:00

Watchmen were far from the only Michiganders who were

20:03

mad at the governor in the lockdown. Hundreds

20:05

of people were expected to attend a protest at

20:07

the Capitol. And of course, the

20:09

Watchmen would be there too. Watchmen!

20:14

Watchmen! Watchmen!

20:17

It's April 30th, 2020, at the

20:19

Capitol Building in Lansing. Pete

20:21

Musico and Joe Morrison are there, wearing

20:24

tactical gear and carrying their rifles. Dan

20:27

is there too, secretly recording

20:29

everything and transmitting the audio

20:31

live to FBI agents monitoring

20:33

nearby. And

20:36

around noon, the crowd starts to get restless.

20:39

Dan hears some of the Watchmen and

20:41

others talking about storming the Capitol. And

20:44

then Pete, talking about Governor Whitmer, says he

20:46

wants to catch that bitch coming out

20:48

of the emergency exit. Dan

20:56

steps away from the group and speaks into his

20:58

wire. He reports

21:01

that the Watchmen are talking about breaching

21:03

the Capitol by force. Special

21:06

Agent Hank Gimpola, listening in, gets a hold

21:08

of the Michigan State Police and

21:10

tells them to just let the crowd into the

21:12

building to avoid a potential bloodbath. And

21:24

that is how an angry and extremely well-armed

21:26

mob ended up inside the Capitol, racing up

21:28

the stairs and filling the hallway

21:30

in front of the Senate chamber where a session was in

21:32

progress. All that is over!

21:38

Musico and Morrison are standing right next to a news

21:40

camera, yelling at the state troopers. This is my building!

21:42

This is mine! You work

21:44

for me! This is all still mine!

21:50

They don't know it, but they're standing just

21:52

a few feet away from a guy who

21:54

would soon change their destiny. A

21:57

burly dude in a Hawaiian shirt at the front of the

21:59

Capitol. front of the crowd screaming to

22:01

be let in. You're not

22:04

safe! You're not safe! You're not

22:06

safe! It's Adam Bucks,

22:09

and right there with him, his girlfriend,

22:12

Amanda Keller. After

22:18

a while, the fervor dies down and

22:20

the crowd slowly disperses. But

22:23

some stay behind, milling around the Capitol

22:25

and having a look around. The

22:28

Wolverine Watchmen end up in front of

22:30

Governor Whitmer's office and decide to pose

22:32

for a photo. In

22:34

the picture, they're standing menacingly in

22:37

a line in front of Whitmer's door. Masks

22:40

up, rifles in hand, like

22:42

hunters standing over a trophy

22:45

buck. It's

23:00

June 3, 2020, a

23:02

little over a month after the protest at the Michigan

23:04

State Capitol. Dan Chappell

23:06

is on his way to a meeting with

23:08

the Wolverine Watchmen, blasting metal

23:11

in his big Ford truck, as he

23:13

usually does. Alright, here we go. And

23:17

of course, he's also rolling tape.

23:21

Alrighty, walking in. Today's

23:26

meeting is at Ty Garban's mobile

23:28

home in Heartland, Michigan. Garban,

23:30

who the Watchmen call Gunny, is in

23:33

the group's leadership. And when

23:35

he answers the door, he gives Dan

23:37

a warm reception. From

23:42

Joe Morrison's wife, Jada,

23:46

to the dogs, it

23:49

seems like everybody is happy to

23:51

see Dan. Dan's

23:56

been in the Watchmen for a little over two months, and

23:58

to the guys in the group, He's become

24:00

a mentor and a friend. They

24:03

look to him for answers on everything from

24:05

tactical training to what guns to buy. They've

24:08

even started coming to him for relationship

24:10

advice. No, I haven't even kissed

24:12

this lady yet, but we fucked the shit up on

24:14

you. So how does that work? No

24:17

idea. No foreplay. I don't even

24:19

have a friend. I said you have a

24:21

friend. So, go

24:23

fuck yourself. Among

24:26

the group members, he's known as Big

24:28

Dan. There's a lot of crosstalk

24:30

at any Watchmen meeting, but when

24:32

Big Dan speaks, these guys

24:34

listen. We can do ingress

24:36

egress, so just maneuvering around the vehicle itself.

24:39

Just start from the front of the cab back, so

24:41

working on A-pillars, B-pillars, driver down

24:43

scenarios. A

24:48

week before this meeting, George Floyd was

24:50

murdered by a policeman in Minneapolis. In

24:53

response, there have been massive protests and

24:56

some riots across the country. The

24:59

Watchmen were already anti-cop, and some

25:01

members have attended demonstrations with their

25:03

guns to protect protesters from police

25:05

violence. But in the riots,

25:07

the Watchmen see something else. They

25:10

see society falling apart. The

25:13

Second American Civil War, the Boogaloo,

25:15

could be coming any day

25:17

now. My only worry is

25:19

how much longer we have before this shit actually pops

25:21

out. What the fuck are

25:23

those dudes? I know, just celebrating on

25:25

a crazy rate that held the riots when

25:27

I was a monitor. Mom, they've been fucking...

25:30

Four cops in St. Louis the other morning. The

25:33

Watchmen want to get their act together. This

25:35

meeting at Garbins Place is to create

25:38

a rank structure for the group, to

25:40

decide who should be the commanding officer. There's

25:43

one obvious guy for the job. All

25:46

in favor of making Dan the commander? No.

25:52

Everyone wants Dan to be the leader of the

25:54

Watchmen. This was never supposed

25:57

to happen, and Dan knows it. As

26:03

an FBI informant, Dan has already taken

26:05

on a highly active role in the

26:07

group. But if he's the

26:10

official leader, and they're later charged with

26:12

a crime, they could argue that Dan

26:14

had entrapped them, that he'd led them to do

26:16

things they wouldn't have done on their own. It

26:20

could blow the entire operation. Scrambling,

26:23

Dan tries to convince the group that

26:25

Joe Morrison, the founder, is the

26:27

rightful leader. I think Joe is

26:29

more you. You

26:32

two are... I mean, I can be

26:34

our office guy. Eventually

26:37

they find a compromise. Joe

26:40

will be the commanding officer. Dan

26:42

will be the executive officer, or

26:44

second in command. Dan

26:47

is now in a great position to carry out

26:49

his mission, figure out what the

26:51

watchmen want to do, and get them on tape talking

26:53

about it. And during this

26:55

same meeting, Joe Morrison mentions something

26:58

big. A national militia

27:00

summit coming up in a few days. At

27:02

a hotel in Dublin, Ohio. And

27:06

what's the meaning about it? I mean, what's the numbers of

27:08

projections? 20, 40,

27:10

50, 100? Like 15

27:13

different states can be the lucky ones. Morrison

27:15

says representatives from 15 different

27:18

states will be there. But his contact,

27:20

a trucker from Delaware named Barry Croft,

27:22

says it'll be a meeting of the

27:24

minds where they'll discuss a national game

27:26

plan. Basically, it's what a

27:29

national game plan looks like.

27:31

Some of the watchmen are skeptical about the summit.

27:34

A bunch of militia guys meeting at

27:36

a hotel in the middle of Ohio

27:39

during a pandemic? Sounds like something that

27:41

a lot of feds are going to be at. Right, that's what

27:43

I'm saying. They said at a convention you're going to

27:45

have feds there. Flat out. Joe

27:47

Morrison's wife, Jada, has a bad feeling about

27:49

it. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's why

27:52

I don't really want him going. Paul

27:54

Bellar, another watchman, says that if they go,

27:56

they should bring guns. As

28:00

an informant, Dan has his own agenda. He

28:09

tries to convince the guys to go. In

28:18

the end, the group decides to play it safe

28:20

and stay home from the summit. If

28:23

it turns out to be one big bust, they'll

28:26

definitely hear about it afterwards. The

28:34

watchmen were right. The Ohio

28:37

summit was crawling with feds. And

28:40

Adam Fox was there, talking crazy,

28:42

oblivious to the fact that he

28:44

was being recorded. Afterwards,

28:52

Barry Croft told Adam to get in

28:54

touch with some contacts of his in Michigan.

28:57

Like-minded individuals who might be good to

28:59

know. Now Adam was

29:02

on a collision course with the

29:04

Wolverine watchmen. Eight

29:12

days later, Dan Chappell shows up to

29:14

train at Joe Morrison's house in

29:16

Munis, recording everything. This

29:27

training is mandatory for watchmen members.

29:30

They're trying to weed out people who aren't serious.

29:33

Anyone from the Facebook group who doesn't show

29:35

up will be removed. Dan

29:38

leads the training, showing the guys how to

29:40

shoot from cars. Dan

29:47

brings a gigantic .308 caliber

29:49

belt-fed rifle that the guys swoon

29:52

over. They

29:58

all want to take turns shooting. During

30:04

the training, Pete Musica walks up to Dan to

30:07

talk to him about something. Eventually

30:13

they step away from the group to chat. Pete

30:17

says that someone from the Malicious Summit in Ohio

30:19

reached out to them. This

30:21

really enthusiastic guy, Adam

30:24

Fox. Adam

30:27

wants to set a meeting at

30:29

a vacuum cleaner store in Grand

30:31

Rapids, where he apparently works and

30:33

also lives. And

30:35

the way Adam talked about this meeting in

30:38

a voice message, well, it doesn't sound like

30:40

he wants to talk about hoses and nozzles.

30:55

Pete is known for crazy talk, but

30:58

this dude, Adam, is on another

31:00

level. He's doing his

31:02

talking out in the open in videos

31:04

on Facebook. Adam,

31:12

it seems, isn't playing around.

31:15

And this meeting in the basement of

31:17

the Vaxack sounds serious. Like

31:20

start the Boogaloo serious. Pete

31:22

was once the group's biggest diehard. But

31:49

in recent weeks, he started to pull back

31:51

a bit and spend more time with his church. Maybe

31:54

all this Boogaloo stuff is more than

31:56

he signed up for. in

32:00

a Christian light. We had

32:03

a purpose for what we're doing.

32:06

That was for helping and protecting people. It

32:09

wasn't about killing cops. It

32:11

wasn't about fucking doing none of that

32:13

shit. I'm down! I'll

32:16

tell you that now. If that's what it takes to reset

32:18

system, I'm fucking down. Because I'm down to reset system. You

32:21

know? It's flawed on every level. It's flawed on every

32:24

level. Joe Morrison walks up

32:26

and joins the conversation. Pete

32:28

relates his concerns. Adam Fox

32:30

wants to kick off the boogaloo. For

32:32

real. That's what he's

32:34

doing for us. Hello. Adam.

32:38

Yeah? Yeah, you talkin'. You

32:40

know what he's doin' for? I was hoping

32:42

you were kickin' it off. Yeah! Straight out

32:44

kickin' that shit off. I know. Okay.

32:48

I'm not speechless. For

32:50

months, these guys have talked a lot about

32:52

all the illegal shit they want to do.

32:55

But they haven't done any of it. But

32:57

a meeting to kick off the boogaloo

33:00

is definitely worth investigating. And these

33:02

guys, they'll go where Dan goes. So Dan

33:05

says, he's going. I'm down for goin'.

33:07

Huh? I'm down for goin'.

33:10

Are you? Yeah. I'm committed to it.

33:13

Dan gets Adam's contact information. And

33:15

after the training, he heads to the FBI

33:18

office in Flint. This call is

33:20

so important that he wants to do it in

33:22

front of Special Agents Jason Chambers and

33:24

Hank Impala. Oh. You

33:27

have to activate it. All good? Yep. Goin'

33:37

talk, man. Hey, what's goin' on, brother? If

33:40

the FBI thought that Adam Fox

33:42

was a real danger, you would

33:44

think that, through Dan, they might

33:46

try to dissuade him to stop

33:48

him from, as Adam puts it,

33:50

storming the Capitol, taking hostages, and

33:52

hog-tying the governor. Go

33:56

ahead, right? That's not good.

34:00

what happens. The FBI

34:02

needs to see if Adam will go beyond

34:04

just talking about violence. So

34:07

Dan invites Adam to come train with the

34:09

Watchmen. Hey man, if you want to come

34:11

down and train at Joe's sometime with us, that'd be great. Instead

34:17

of talking Adam down, Dan offers him

34:19

an army to help

34:21

turn his violent fantasies into a

34:24

reality. No, I can meet up down there with you guys when

34:26

we can train and all that. I do

34:28

their tactical training for him. Pete

34:32

Musico and Joe Morrison decide they aren't going to

34:34

meet up with Adam at the Vaxchak. So

34:37

Dan, the Watchmen's second in command,

34:39

takes the lead. A

34:41

few days later he confirms the meeting and

34:43

texts special agent Jason Chambers. Everything's

34:46

a go for Saturday. 4-15, Vaxchak. Chambers

34:50

texts back. Boom. You

34:53

are the man. If

34:56

you guys need it to happen, I'll make it happen. You

35:01

driving? Yeah. It's

35:08

Saturday, June 20th. Dan

35:10

is meeting up with a couple of Watchmen,

35:12

Paul Bellar and Ty Garbin, to take them

35:14

to the Vaxchak. The guys already

35:16

seem to be into one of Adam's ideas.

35:19

Getting a warrant to arrest Governor Gretchen

35:21

Whitmer. I'll put my

35:23

way down for the whole arrested Webber thing. It's

35:26

a psychological way to go. I

35:28

will gladly help out with that. Alright,

35:32

let's get this shit on the road. That's the gas station.

35:34

I'm going to need some rippin. Garbin

35:36

rides with Dan to Grand Rapids, and when

35:38

they pull into the parking lot,

35:40

Garbin seems surprised.

35:43

Vaxchak. Is that what it

35:45

is? Yeah. I thought it was a gun store.

35:47

No. What

35:49

the fuck? I'm so disappointed. I

35:51

didn't come here to a fucking suck shop. They

35:54

park the car and enter the Vaxchak. Adam's

36:00

girlfriend Amanda Keller is there too.

36:08

Adam says they'll talk in the basement. He

36:11

opens a hatch in the floor of a

36:13

storage room to reveal some stairs leading

36:15

down into the dark. Just grab some seats

36:17

and go down there. I got a little

36:19

like bedroom. My little fucking fall off place

36:22

man. I got a fucking bug out.

36:24

Yeah. Hide underneath their nose. This

36:28

is it. Dan is finally

36:30

going to record someone talking with the

36:32

watchman about a real terrorist plot. But

36:35

for once, Adam's paranoia actually works

36:37

to his benefit. Before

36:39

they head down the stairs, he has everyone

36:41

put their phones in a box in case

36:44

someone is recording. Or the feds are listening

36:46

in. You always have their phones in

36:48

there. They're gonna fuck my hair and water it

36:50

out. Dan

36:55

might be new to this whole informant thing,

36:58

but the FBI isn't. Do

37:00

you really think they would send their guy in

37:02

with just one recorder? What's

37:05

going on there? Are

37:08

you okay? Yeah. On

37:15

the next episode of Chameleon Season 7,

37:18

the Michigan plot, that secret meeting

37:20

and a stone wild plan to

37:22

storm the Michigan Capitol with a

37:24

Boogaloo army. Dude, we could send 300 men into

37:26

the Capitol to seize it and we could have

37:29

cycles from buildings, from apartments and shit. Get

37:31

toned down into a stone

37:33

wild plan to go after the

37:35

governor. You know, like she has her own

37:37

office, right? Yeah. Small eagle.

38:00

binge.com to get access wherever you get

38:02

your podcasts. As a

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subscriber, you'll get binge access to new stories

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on the first of every month. Check

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Apple Podcasts or getthebinge.com to learn

38:13

more. Chameleon

38:18

is a production of Campside Media in

38:20

partnership with Sony Ease of Entertainment. The

38:23

Michigan plot is produced by Ryan

38:25

Schweicher. Callie Hitchcock and Henry Levoie

38:27

are associate producers. The

38:29

show is hosted by me, Jessica Garrison.

38:32

And me, Ken Benzica. Story

38:35

editing by Michael Canyon Meyer. Josh

38:37

Dean is our executive producer. Voice

38:40

acting by Levi Petrie. Fact

38:42

checking by Annika Robbins. Additional

38:44

research by Julie Deneschek. Sound

38:47

design and mix by E. Win Lai

38:49

Tramewin. Music by

38:51

Blue Dot Sessions, Epidemic Sound, and

38:53

APM. A special thanks

38:56

to our operations team, Doug Flaywin,

38:58

Ashley Warren, and Destiny Dingle. Campside

39:01

Media's executive producers are Josh

39:03

Dean, Vanessa Grigoriata, Adam Hoss,

39:05

and Matt Cher. If

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you're enjoying the show, spread the word and

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leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It

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helps other people find the show. I'm

39:16

Jessica Garrison, and thanks for listening.

39:25

Come on, hurry up. You're getting shot at. Yeah.

39:31

She's going to think about this tonight and touch it.

39:34

Yes, she is. Oh, you know I'm talking about it.

39:36

Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah. I'm

39:41

at the football game. I'm at

39:43

the grocery store. I'm at

39:45

the combination football game and grocery

39:47

store. Wait, you're at the football

39:49

game and the grocery store? I'm

39:52

at the combination football game and

39:54

grocery store. Grocery through Instacart. Deliver

39:57

it to my core. I don't have to

39:59

choose. Football in the

40:01

grocery store.