Jurors in northern Michigan acquitted three men on Friday who were accused of providing support to a plot to kidnap the state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer.
Against that backdrop, state prosecutors said, a group of men with antigovernment beliefs, militia ties and anger over pandemic lockdowns came together and began concocting a plan to abduct and possibly kill Ms. Whitmer at her rural vacation home, and perhaps incite a civil war in the process.
Some of the men discussed attacking the governor’s security detail and blowing up a bridge to hinder the police response to the kidnapping.
During the trial, William Barnett, a lawyer for Mr. Molitor, noted for the jury that Ms. Whitmer had blamed Mr. Trump’s rhetoric for the plot.
Federal jurors found that Mr. Croft and Mr. Fox had planned to kidnap Ms. Whitmer and destroy a bridge leading to her home.
Antrim County is politically conservative, and Donald J. Trump received more than 60 percent of the vote there in 2020, even as Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the race statewide.
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Jurors in northern Michigan acquitted three men on Friday who were accused of providing support to a plot to kidnap the state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer.
Against that backdrop, state prosecutors said, a group of men with antigovernment beliefs, militia ties and anger over pandemic lockdowns came together and began concocting a plan to abduct and possibly kill Ms. Whitmer at her rural vacation home, and perhaps incite a civil war in the process.
Some of the men discussed attacking the governor’s security detail and blowing up a bridge to hinder the police response to the kidnapping.
During the trial, William Barnett, a lawyer for Mr. Molitor, noted for the jury that Ms. Whitmer had blamed Mr. Trump’s rhetoric for the plot.
Federal jurors found that Mr. Croft and Mr. Fox had planned to kidnap Ms. Whitmer and destroy a bridge leading to her home.
Antrim County is politically conservative, and Donald J. Trump received more than 60 percent of the vote there in 2020, even as Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the race statewide.
The original article contains 596 words, the summary contains 175 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!