A federal judge sentenced the leader of the failed plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. to 19 years and seven months in prison on Wednesday, the longest sentence imposed in the investigation into the 2020 domestic terror conspiracy.
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Michigan-based Judge Robert Jonker sentenced Barry Croft Jr., 47, a Delaware truck driver, on Wednesday, following his conviction in August for kidnapping conspiracy, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, and possession of an illegal bomb.
Prosecutors compared his influence over the plan and his co-conspirators to a spiritual leader of the Islamic State.
A member of the anti-government group, known as the Three Percenters, and his co-conspirators planned the kidnapping as a way to get other extremists to overthrow the government, prosecutors said.
Jonker said that the prosecutors requested a life sentence. According to The New York Times, the lawyer asked the judge for a shorter sentence for his client, who was suffering from mental illness and drug abuse issues.
Croft said, "I can't wait for war to come to this land" According to the sentencing memo, only a life sentence can adequately address Croft's crimes and prevent him and others from pursuing apocalyptic visions for our country.
On Tuesday, Adam Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in the kidnapping plot. The two men who were involved in the plot were sentenced to 30 months and four years in prison. During his four years in office, Donald Trump encouraged many extremists to come out of the shadows and engage in political violence. Many of the suspects in the case were members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen. 13 people were arrested by the FBI in October 2020 after an undercover mission in which they were embedded. According to prosecutors, Croft was a key participant in the plot, helping to recruit co-conspirators like Fox and giving direction to the co-conspirators. He blamed Trump for giving comfort to those who spread fear and hatred after the arrests.
Further reading is required.
A new trial has been ordered in the kidnapping case.
Two men were convicted of trying to abduct the governor of Michigan.
Six men have been charged in a months-long violent plot to abduct Michigan's governor.
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