Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia was discussed as a possible target by members of an anti-government group charged last week with plotting to kidnap governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, the FBI said on Tuesday.

During a hearing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Special Agent Richard J. Trask II of the FBI said that Northam and other officials were targeted because of their aggressive lockdown orders to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.

Last week, 13 men accused of involvement in the alleged plot were charged with a variety of state and federal crimes including terrorism, conspiracy and weapons possession. They also talked of planning to storm the Michigan State Capitol and start a civil war, the authorities said.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the authorities revealed that the suspects also spoke about “taking” the Virginia governor “based” on coronavirus lockdown orders that restricted businesses.

Whitmer, a Democrat, issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 24 that prohibited “in-person work that is not necessary to sustain or protect life”, as well as all gatherings of any number of people who did not live in the same household.

In April, President Trump had openly encouraged Right-wing protests of social distancing restrictions in Virginia, Michigan and other states with stay-at-home orders, a day after his administration had announced guidelines for governors to set their own timetables for reopening.