Three men convicted for supporting plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

The men were members of the ‘Wolverine Watchmen’ right-wing gang

Paul Bellar, middle, appears before Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wilson on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022 for trial in Jackson, Mich. Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico are charged in connection with a 2020 anti-government plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (J. Scott Park/Jackson Citizen Patriot via AP, Pool) (AP)

Three men who were charged with supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have been convicted on all charges.

Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were convicted for providing "material support" to a terrorist act on Wednesday. The men were part of a militaristic, right wing gang called the "Wolverine Watchmen."

The men were also convicted of a gun crime and membership in a gang. Prosecutors referred to the gang as a criminal enterprise.

The group met and held firearm drills in Jackson County. The alleged leader of the gang, Adam Fox, reportedly hated Ms Whitmer and the policies she enacted during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to prosecutors, the pandemic bolstered the group’s recruitment, spurring some to back a second civil war in the US.

“The facts drip out slowly and you begin to see — wow — there were things that happened that people knew about. ... When you see how close Adam Fox got to the governor, you can see how a very bad event was thwarted,” state Assistant Attorney General Bill Rollstin told jurors.

The men’s defense attorneys argued that their clients had already distanced themselves from Mr Fox by the time the plot to kidnap Ms Whitmer was formulated in summer 2020. According to them, the defendants stayed home when a group of gang members scouted out Ms Whitmer’s residence that year.

“In this country, you are allowed to talk the talk but you only get convicted if you walk the walk,” Musico’s attorney, Kareem Johnson, told the jury.

The gang’s plans were ultimately foiled in October 2020 after undercover agents infiltrated the group.

Fox and Barry Croft Jr were both convicted of conspiring to kidnap Ms Whitmer in August. Two other men charged in the scheme, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were acquitted, while another two — Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks — pleaded guilty to their charges.