3 men sentenced in Whitmer kidnapping plot
Three men convicted of aiding in efforts to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in 2020 were sentenced to prison on Thursday, multiple outlets report.
The three men — Paul Bellar, 24; Joseph Morrison, 28; and Pete Musico, 45 — each received sentences of varying lengths. Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years, Morrison a minimum of 10 years, and Bellar a minimum of seven, per The New York Times.
All three of the defendants were convicted back in October after being "found guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegal gang membership, as well as felony firearms charges," the Times writes. (The men were members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia group, prosecutors said.)
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bellar, Morrison, and Musico are among seven others charged by Michigan's attorney general with helping plan the kidnapping plot, contrived in retaliation toward Whitmer's COVID-19 restrictions at the time.
Each of the men made a statement during the hearing and apologized for their actions. "I regret that I ever let hate, fear, and anger into my heart the way I did," Morrison said, per Reuters. "Your Honor, I had a lapse in judgment," added Musico. "I've been a good citizen, I've been a family man, I've taken care of my family for a very long time."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 26, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - the House GOP abandon ship, Joe Biden sets his stall, and more
By The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published