FILE - This combination of photos provided by the Kent County Sheriff and the Delaware Department of Justice shows, top row from left, Brandon Caserta and Barry Croft; and bottom row from left, Adam Dean Fox and Daniel Harris. The four members of anti-government groups are facing trial in March 2022 on federal charges accusing them in a plot to abduct Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Jury selection begins Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in a trial the presiding judge at the U.S. District Court courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., said could take over a month. (Kent County Sheriff, Delaware Department of Justice via AP File)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — With secret recordings and other evidence, prosecutors are pledging to show how four men were united behind a wild plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor in response to her aggressive steps to slow down COVID-19 during the early months of the pandemic.

Jury selection began Tuesday for a trial that could last more than a month in federal court in western Michigan, with U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker telling prospective jurors: “This isn’t your average criminal case” because of the extraordinary allegations of a plot against an elected official.

Jonker emphasized that prospective jurors must put aside any personal feelings about politics, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration’s response to COVID-19 to fairly hear the case, or they cannot serve. Two men were dismissed after the judge’s questions revealed a dislike of the Democratic governor, with one man saying, “I would probably be pretty biased.”

A few other people were dismissed due to job or home conflicts, including a nurse who worked throughout the pandemic. The woman said she finally has a trip planned and “I really want to go on vacation.” A man who said he has followed news coverage of the case intensely was let go after saying, “I think they’re guilty.”

In 2020, Whitmer was trading taunts with then-President Donald Trump over his administration’s response to COVID-19. Her critics, meanwhile, were regularly protesting at the Michigan Capitol, clogging streets around the statehouse and legally carrying semi-automatic rifles into the building.

During that turbulent time, when stay-home orders were in place and the economy was restricted, Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr. and Daniel Harris were coming up with a plot to snatch Whitmer, prosecutors say.

They’re accused of taking critical steps over several months, including secret messaging, gun drills in the woods and a night drive to northern Michigan to scout her second home and figure out how to blow up a bridge.