2 men found guilty in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Two men were convicted on Tuesday of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).
The U.S. government said the men, 39-year-old Adam Fox and 46-year-old Barry Croft Jr., were members of the Three Percenters militia group, and wanted to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home and put her "on trial." Additionally, the men were found guilty of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, and Croft was convicted of possession of an explosive device.
Fox and Croft were tried earlier this year, but there was a hung jury and the judge declared a mistrial. Two of their co-defendants were acquitted, and two others pleaded guilty. Fox and Croft both face the possibility of life in prison.
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During closing arguments on Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler accused Fox and Croft of wanting to "set off a second American Civil War and a second American Revolution." The men didn't want to "just kidnap" Whitmer, he added. "They wanted to execute her."
In a statement released after the verdicts were announced, Whitmer said she "cannot — and I will not — let extremists get in the way of the work we do. They will never break my unwavering faith in the goodness and decency of our people."
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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