A federal jury on Friday found two men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer not guilty of kidnapping conspiracy and a mistrial was declared for two other defendants.
via: Complex
ABC News reports that two of the men, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, were acquitted and the other two, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., saw a hung jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2020, the four men were accused of scheming to abduct the Democrat governor from her vacation home.
Altogether, the men faced 10 charges, including kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use explosives, both of which come with life sentences. The men were allegedly inspired to make the plan following Whitmer’s COVID-19 guidelines that she set at the pandemic’s outset.
While prosecutors posited that the men were members of a far-right group—and Fox was their leader—defense attorneys described their clients as “credulous weekend warriors prone to big, wild talk, who were often stoned,” ABC writes. The defense also accused undercover FBI agents and informants of deceiving the men into saying it was a conspiracy.
Prosecutors fired back with evidence of the men’s plot before the FBI rounded them up. The men had allegedly done research into Whitmer’s summer home and were figuring out what explosives to use.
Back in August, 25-year-old airline mechanic Ty Garbin was sentenced to 75 months in prison for his part in the alleged plot. He was the first defendant to be sentenced and the only one who pleaded guilty in the case, which has become one of the most biggest domestic terrorism cases in years.
During the trial, FBI agents raided a residence on the outskirts of Detroit last week in connection to threats made to the judge, two defense attorneys and at least one potential witness.
