FILE – This combination of photographs provided by the Kent County Sheriff and the Delaware Department of Justice shows Brandon Caserta and Barry Croft in the upper left row. and bottom row from left, Adam Dean Fox and Daniel Harris. The four members of the anti-government group are facing trial in March 2022 with federal charges accusing them of plotting to oust Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s abduction in 2020. Selection of jurors begins Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in a trial presided over by the presiding judge. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids, Mich., Said it could take more than a month. (Kent County Sheriff, Delaware Department of Justice via AP file) 1 of 2 FILE – This combination of photographs provided by the Kent County Sheriff and the Delaware Department of Justice shows Brandon Caserta and Barry Croft in the upper left row. and bottom row from left, Adam Dean Fox and Daniel Harris. The four members of the anti-government group are facing trial in March 2022 with federal charges accusing them of plotting to oust Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s abduction in 2020. Selection of jurors begins Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in a trial presided over by the presiding judge. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids, Mich., Said it could take more than a month. (Kent County Sheriff, Delaware Department of Justice via AP file) GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – A prosecutor urged jurors on Friday to convict four men of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying they were “outraged” anti-government extremists and intending to spark a civil war. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Niels Kessler summed up the details on the 15th day of the trial in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The case was built with informants, undercover agents, undercover recorders and two witness stars who pleaded guilty and collaborated. Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are accused of conspiracy. Three of the men also face additional weapons charges. “They were full of rage,” Kessler told the jury. “They were paranoid because they knew what they were doing was wrong and they were afraid they might get caught.” The four men deny any plans for Whitmer to go to her holiday home, although they are outraged by the government and the restrictions imposed by the governor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fox’s lawyer, Christopher Gibbons, spent much of his final argument forging FBI-paid informant Dan Chappell, who spoke with Fox almost daily for months, recording their conversations. He said Fox was an unfortunate man who lived in the basement of a vacuum cleaner shop, smoked marijuana whenever possible and was completely incapable of leading the savage plan. “The plan was complete nonsense. It was not true of Adam Fox. It was LARPing, “said Gibbons, referring to the role-playing game. “Adam Fox is usually weak. He’s just playing his game. “A person can not accidentally enter into a conspiracy.” The men were arrested in October 2020 amid talk of raising $ 4,000 for an explosive device that could blow up a bridge and deter police after a kidnapping, according to court records. Fox traveled twice to northern Michigan to locate the area. Kessler highlighted the testimony of Ty Garbin, who was arrested with the group but quickly agreed to cooperate and pleaded guilty. “Boogaloo is the whole idea behind the start of a second civil war in the United States. “That connected these defendants,” the prosecutor told the jury. Defense attorneys insist the men were under the spell of informants and agents who made them say and do violent, provocative things. Only one defendant, Harris, chose to testify in his own defense. But his denial of any crime on Thursday was met with an aggressive counter-examination, in which prosecutors used his own words to show his contempt for Whitmer and even suggestions on how to kill her. Harris repeatedly answered “not at all” when asked by his lawyer if he was part of a plot. His testimony was dangerous because he was exposed to numerous provocations by prosecutors who offered evidence against the group for days. Harris was confronted by his own chat messages pretending to be a pizza delivery man and killed Whitmer at her door. The former Marine also recalled working with explosives while training with the team, most notably in Luther, Michigan, in September 2020, about a month before they were arrested. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Roth played a conversation with Croft about militiamen who overthrew governments in various states and “broke some eggs” if necessary. “When this man talks to you at a dinner party about killing people, do you not get up and go out, sir?” Roth asked. “You do not say, ‘This team is not for me, sir?’ “No,” Harris replied. Garbin and Kaleb Franks pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators. Garbin said last week that the group acted willingly and hoped to strike before the election, cause national chaos and prevent Joe Biden from winning the presidency. Whitmer, a Democrat, rarely spoke publicly about the kidnapping plan, although she referred to “surprises” during her term that seemed “something out of the ordinary” when she applied for re-election on March 17. He accused former President Donald Trump of inciting anger over the coronavirus restrictions and of refusing to condemn far-right extremists such as those charged in the case. Whitmer said Trump was complicit in the January 6 Capitol uprising.
Find the full AP coverage of the Whitmer abduction plot trial at: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial
White reported from Detroit.
