Two of four men were acquitted Friday of conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, motivated by fury at the Democrat’s tough COVID-19 restrictions early in the pandemic.
The jury’s verdicts against Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were read in the federal court in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the case presided over by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker. Jurors said they couldn’t agree on verdicts again Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. Prosecutors described Fox as a ringleader of an anti-government group.
Fox, Croft and Harris faced additional charges. The two most serious charges, kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use explosives, both carry potential life sentences.
Defence attorneys portrayed their clients as credulous weekend warriors prone to big, wild talk, who were often stoned. They said FBI undercover agents and informants tricked and cajoled the men into agreeing to a conspiracy.
To counter that entrapment claim, prosecutors entered evidence that the men discussed abducting Whitmer before the FBI sting began. They went way beyond talk, including scouting Whitmer’s summer home and testing explosives, prosecutors told jurors.
Croft is from Delaware while the others are from Michigan.
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