By late summer 2020, Plunk was given an important task by the FBI: prevent the group from splintering. Still without any plan to kidnap Whitmer, and facing growing discord between targets including Croft, Plunk was instructed to “keep working to solve the differences in the group,” by her FBI handler. “Show them they were brought together by Croft and he has good ideas. Show them the good ideas Croft brought.”
The FBI introduced three undercover FBI agents into the operation to up the ante, one of whom pretended to be an explosives expert. “Red” met the group in Michigan in September 2020 and brought along a video showing how he could build a bomb that would blow up a large vehicle.