eric trump
Eric Trump.
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  • Eric Trump canceled a visit to a Michigan-area gun shop after it was discovered that one of the 13 men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to work there. 
  • The gun shop did not identify the worker but said the man worked there for three weeks in February on the gun range. 
  • He was fired after wearing a lot of tactical gear to work and behaving oddly, the company said. 
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Eric Trump canceled a visit to a Michigan gun shop after it was discovered that one of the 13 men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to work there. 

Huron Valley Guns wrote in a Facebook post that one of the men accused in the plot worked there for three weeks in February and was fired after showing up to work wearing “a LOT of tactical gear.”

“We found that a little odd. We weren’t comfortable with him for a few other reasons and fired him after 3 weeks. He ended up being one of the fringe characters arrested for the Governor Whitmer kidnapping,” the organization wrote.

Ed Swadish, owner of Huron Valley Guns, told The Detroit News that he couldn’t reveal the name of the employee on the advice of his lawyers but said the former employee worked on the gun range. 

“If this were a factory, this would be the equivalent of a floor sweeper,” Swadish said of the person, according to the Detroit News.

Federal and state officials brought charges against thirteen people on suspicion of plotting to kidnap Whitmer.

An FBI affidavit said the men reached out to members of an armed right-wing militia in Michigan to carry out their plan.

"In early 2020, the FBI became aware through social media that a group of individuals were discussing the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components. Among those individuals identified were Croft and Fox," Richard Trask II, an FBI agent, wrote in the sworn affidavit.

The gun shop said that while it was sad that Eric Trump changed venues, it was glad the news came out early. 

"The Governor would have had a field day against the Trump campaign. They would accuse the administration of sending his son to a facility where terrorists work and train. This could not be further from the truth, but imagine the left spin," they wrote in the Facebook post. 

The Trump Organization did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment at the time of publication. 

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