Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.Photo: AP/Shutterstock
A federal jury in Grand Rapids has convicted two men charged in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov.Gretchen Whitmer.
Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted Tuesday of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to possess weapons of mass destruction,Detroit Free Pressreports. Croft was also convicted on an additional weapons charge.
The jury deliberated for about eight hours before delivering its guilty verdicts, according to the report. The men, who’ll be sentenced at a later date, face up to life in prison.
U.S. attorneysannounced chargesagainst Fox, Croft and others in October 2020 after the FBI became aware of a scheme to overthrow the government and kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat, at her vacation home in the Western District of Michigan and detonate explosives to disrupt police responding to the governor’s abduction.
“I want to thank the prosecutors and law enforcement officers for their hard work,” Gov. Whitmer said in astatement released on Twitter. “Today’s verdict proves that violence and threats have no place in our politics and those who seek to divide us will be held accountable. They will not succeed.”
The verdict marked the end of a second trial for Croft and Fox after another jury failed to reach a verdict in their cases earlier this year, triggering a mistrial.
Kent County Sheriff’s Office (2)
But the prosecution argued that Fox and Croft went beyond just talking and cased Whitmer’s vacation home more than once, held meetings in secret, practiced breaking-and-entering drills and prepped explosives, according toDetroit Free Press.
“You can’t just strap on an AR-15 and body armor and snatch the governor,” federal prosecutor Nils Kessler said during closing arguments, according to theTimes.
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In her statement, Whitmer, who isup for reelection this year, urged followers to “take a hard look at the status of our politics.”
“Plots against public officials and threats to the FBI are a disturbing extension of radicalized domestic terrorism that festers in our nation, threatening the very foundation of our republic,” she said in the Twitter statement. “I ran for office because I love my fellow Michiganders and my home state will all my heart. I always will. I cannot — I will not — let extremists get in the way of the work we do.”
source: people.com
