Federal prosecutors asked a judge Tuesday to prevent men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from leaking the identities of informants and undercover agents who infiltrated the alleged conspiracy.

Prosecutors fear the premature identification of informants and undercover agents could lead to witness tampering or worse. On Tuesday, they asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens to issue a protective order shielding evidence from anyone outside of the defense team, court officials and potential witnesses.

"Such premature identification might reasonably be expected to lead to witness tampering, intimidation and/or retaliation," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote in a court filing. "If not by the defendants themselves, by individuals or groups sympathetic to their perceived aims. In addition, pretrial dissemination of unadmitted evidence could taint the jury pool and create challenges to the selection of an unbiased venire (jury pool)."

Read more: The Detroit News