The city of Grand Rapids is located in the state of Michigan. A Delaware truck driver was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for his role in a plot to abduct Michigan's governor.
Barry Croft Jr., 47, was the fourth and final federal defendants to learn his fate. He was described as the idea guy by Judge Robert J. Jonker, who said he was a very convincing communicator.
"However twisted or irrational it may seem, it did connect to the targeted audience," the judge said. It's as important as being out in the field telling people where to go.
The defense attorney will appeal the sentence.
The two men were convicted of conspiracy in Grand Rapids. The man was found guilty of having an illegal firework.
Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He was asked for a life sentence.
The men were accused of hatching a plan to take the governor from her home. The conspirators were angry about the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place during the early months of the Pandemic and the perceived threats to gun ownership.
No one was hurt. Fourteen people were arrested by the FBI in the group.
There is a plan to physically abduct the governor and possibly kill her. Jonker said that it doesn't get much more serious than that. There was a lot of firearms in the group. The group had everything they needed to achieve their goal.
The assistant U.S. attorney compared the role of the spiritual leader of the group of conspirators to that of a sheikh in the Islamic State.
Kessler told the judge that the man was putting himself as a role of a prophet.
The man is completely radicalized. Kessler said that he hasn't changed his view. He doesn't admit the ideas are wrong because he still has them. The whole thing was Mr. Crofts idea.
The office wouldn't comment Wednesday. Those who try to divide us will be held accountable, she said in August. Such plots threaten the very foundation of our republic, she said.
As he traveled to Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan to meet with extremists, he wore a tricorn hat and had tattoos on his arms that said "Expect Us."
At the first trial in Grand Rapids, a different jury couldn't reach a verdict, but they did acquit two other men.
Kessler said in court documents that the abduction was meant to be the beginning of terror. The plan called for riots,torching government officials, and setting off violence across the country.
In one of the key pieces of evidence, Croft, Fox and others traveled to see a vacation home in northern Michigan that was being used as a base for the conspiracy.
At one point, he said he didn't like seeing people killed. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.
The attorney tried to make his client's role seem less important. According to a court filing, Croft didn't have authority over others and was often frustrated by them.
Blanchard asked for a sentence less than life for Croft.
The judge was told that a lot of people went down a similar rabbit hole when the Pandemic hit.
The sentence means that Croft won't be able to see his kids grow up, according to the man who got emotional in the courtroom.
Croft wasn't the "ideas guy" he's been depicted as. The government didn't want the jury to hear it, so most of it was excluded.
One of the two men who pleaded guilty and testified against Fox and the other received a four-year sentence.
Three men were sentenced for helping Fox in the summer of 2020. A vacation home is where five more are waiting to be tried.
When the plot was stopped, Whitmer blamed Trump, saying he had given comfort to those who spread fear and hatred. 19 months after leaving office, Trump said the kidnapping plan was a fake.
That's right.
Ed White is an Associated Press writer. Joey is a corps member for The Associated Press. A program called Report for America places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
