Prosecutors have succeeded in their second attempt to convict two men accused of participating in a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor.
It took a jury eight hours to find Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. guilty of plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer and hold her for ransom.
Both men were convicted of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to possess weapons of mass destruction, according to the Detroit Free Press. Croft was also found guilty on another weapons charge. Both men face up to life in prison when they come up for sentencing.
It was the second trial for both Fox and Croft, after the first trial ended in a hung jury when it came to the charges the pair faced. In the state of Michigan, a guilty verdict must be unanimous, or a mistrial must be declared. Two other men facing charges, Daniel Harris and Brandon Cresta, were acquitted.
The convictions were the endgame of a saga that began almost two years ago when federal agents raided a farm in Hartland Township, east of Lansing. An affidavit from the FBI indicated that an unnamed militia was plotting to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Whitmer, either at her official residence in Lansing or her summer home in northern Michigan. The FBI also reported that the militia members were allegedly training on property owned by one of the suspects, not far from Whitmer's summer retreat.
The FBI said that the men were reportedly angry with Whitmer and the government over COVID-19 control mandates and wanted the governor to "stand trial" for treason. Prosecutors introduced evidence that included detailed maps of Whitmer's property up north, the casing of both the governor's mansion in Lansing and the vacation home, and that suspects talked in code in an attempt to foil police.
The defence argued that the men were set up by the FBI. Lawyers for the suspects contended that they were merely blowing off steam out of anger over the COVID-19 mandates and had no intention of hurting the governor.
Fox and Croft will be sentenced at a later date.
Whitmer, a Democrat and the second woman to serve as Michigan's governor, is running for a second term in the November election. If she wins, it will be her final term due to term limits. Her Republican opponent is west Michigan businesswoman Tudor Dixon.
