A judge handed down the first sentence Wednesday connected to a militia group's plot in 2020 to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Ty Garbin of Hartland Township, Michigan, was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to a kidnapping conspiracy charge earlier this year.
During the hearing, The Associated Press reports that Garbin apologized to Whitmer.
“I cannot even begin to imagine the amount of stress and fear her family felt because of my actions. And for that I am truly sorry,” Garbin reportedly said.
Garbin is the only person of the 14 charged in connection with the plot thus far to plead guilty. Five others face federal charges alongside Garbin for their role in the plan.
Garbin faced the possibility of life in prison, but prosecutors recommended that he serve nine years for his role in the kidnapping plot. Garbin cooperated with federal law enforcement within weeks of his arrest, giving investigators an inside view of the plot.
Garbin was arrested last fall when the FBI said it broke up the plan to kidnap the governor.
Prosecutors allege that the suspects hatched the plot because they were frustrated by the lockdown orders instituted by Whitmer to limit the spread of COVID-19.
In his plea agreement, Garbin said several of other defendants trained at his place near Luther, Mich., even building a "shoot house" to resemble Whitmer's vacation home.
Trials for the others charged in the plot are scheduled to begin in October.