Three men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a victory for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing “material support” for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen, reports the Associated Press.
They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Whitmer and other officials in 2020 and said he wanted to kidnap her.
Jurors read and heard violent, anti-government screeds and support for the “boogaloo,” a civil war that might be triggered by a shocking abduction. Prosecutors said COVID-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer helped recruit more people to the Watchmen. “The facts drip out slowly,” state Assistant Attorney General Bill Rollstin told jurors in Jackson, Mi., “and you begin to see — wow — there were things that happened that people knew about. ... When you see how close Adam Fox got to the governor, you can see how a very bad event was thwarted.” Moorrison, 28, Musico, 44, and Bellar, 24, were also convicted of a gun crime and membership in a gang. Judge Thomas Wilson ordered all three to jail while they await sentencing scheduled for Dec. 15.