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.)

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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."