Trial in conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer ends in partial mistral

The trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 has ended in a partial mistrial after evidence suggested that the FBI entrapped them into the plan.

Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta, were arrested in October 2020 and were charged with conspiracy to kidnap for allegedly planning to kidnap the governor from her vacation home in northern Michigan. Three of the men also faced weapons charges related to the plot.

The federal jury returned not guilty verdicts for Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta. They could not agree on a verdict for the alleged ringleaders, Adam Fox and Barry Croft. Caserta was acquitted on his birthday and told the courtroom “best birthday gift ever,” according to Sarah Rahal.

“Today Michiganders and Americans, especially our children are living through the normalization of political violence,” Whitmer’s chief of staff, JoAnne Huls, said in a statement. “The plot to kidnap and kill a governor may seem like an anomaly. But we must be honest about what it really is: the result of violent, divisive rhetoric that is all too common across our country.” 

Prosecutors alleged that the men were anti-government extremists, angry over Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders and mask mandates imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government alleged that three of the men, Fox, Harris, and Croft also planned to buy and create explosives to help them carry out their plan, resulting in a weapons of mass destruction charge, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Prosecutors argued in closing statements that the men planned and mapped out the plot before they “gathered weapons and bombs” to execute it, Reuters reported.

“That is the conspiracy that they are charged with, and in America, it’s a crime,” Assistant US Attorney Nils Kessler told jurors, according to Reuters. The defense stated that it their clients fell victim to entrapment.

“Somebody rattles the keys, somebody beats the drum, and gets ’em all worked up,” Christopher Gibbons, an attorney for Fox, said in closing arguments on April 1st, Reuters reported. “That’s unacceptable in America. That’s not how it works.”