Michigan Sheriff Shared Stage with Kidnapping Suspect, Says Many Wanted Whitmer Arrested

A Sheriff in Michigan not only shared a stage with one of the men arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap and possibly kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ... he says the 13 alleged extremists wanted what lots of people wanted ... Whitmer arrested.

Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf has a connection with William Null -- they were on the same stage at a Grand Rapids rally in May protesting Governor Whitmer's stay-at-home order -- and he says he has no regrets about being on the same platform as the man charged in a kidnapping plot.

Sheriff Leaf says he was "shocked" by the arrest and says he "did not see this coming" with Null ... according to an interview he did with FOX 17 in West Michigan.

Leaf is downplaying the arrest, saying "it's just a charge." The Sheriff claims the men might not have been trying to kidnap Governor Whitmer, and instead might have been trying to arrest her for a felony ... presumably her hardline on COVID regs.

Governor Whitmer called the 13 people arrested in the plot "sick and depraved," but Sheriff Leaf insists the Null brothers are nice and respectful ... and he says lots of people in his state are angry with the Governor and want her handcuffed and taken away.

Meanwhile, the Null brothers are being held on $250,000 bail and could face up to 22 years in prison if convicted.