CHICAGO TRIBUNE OPINION- It’s easy to write off people who dress up in camouflage clothing and join anti-government groups with tough-guy names like the Wolverine Watchmen as cosplaying conspiracy theorists. But we do that at our own peril. The men who plotted to harm Whitmer met in July and “discussed attacking a Michigan State Police facility” and “shooting up the Governor’s vacation home,” according to court documents.

They apparently planned to take Whitmer to a location in Wisconsin, where she would stand “trial.”

The men who threatened the governor were caught before they could harm Whitmer, as were the men plotting attacks on law enforcement. That’s law and order — brave investigators using sources within anti-government groups to halt plans before they can happen. But it’s not always enough. Before the Oklahoma City bombing, federal investigators knew the federal building was a target, and they were on top of some groups they thought posed a threat.

People like McVeigh and the men charged in Michigan can pop up anywhere. They feed on distrust in government institutions. We can’t have leaders tossing them red meat.We simply can’t feed these beasts.

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