State court convicts 3 men in Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Three men face up to 20 years in prison after they were convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court on Wednesday morning in the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

After three weeks of testimony, Joseph Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts and attempting to commit a felony as an associate or member of a gang, and a felony firearms charge.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson ordered sentencing for Dec. 15.

The men were part of 14 arrested in early October 2020 on state and federal charges linked to an alleged plot to kid nap Whitmer from her summer home in Elk Rapids, Mich. According to court testimony, the men had planned to try her for treason and kill her.

Prosecutors said the men were either founders or members of the anti-government Wolverine Watchmen militia, which trained other militia members. They said the men trained Adam Fox and Barry Croft, who were both convicted in a federal trial in August for being ringleaders in the Whitmer kidnapping plot.

"They promoted terrorism, they sought out terrorists and when they found them, they trained them," Assistant Attorney General Sunita Doddamani said during closing arguments, according to the Detroit News."(Wolverine Watchmen) was a blueprint for Adam Fox to learn from."