Current:Home > StocksJury clears 3 men in the last trial tied to the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer -DataFinance
Jury clears 3 men in the last trial tied to the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:30:24
A jury acquitted three men Friday in the last trial connected to a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a scheme that was portrayed as an example of homegrown terrorism on the eve of the 2020 presidential election.
William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor were found not guilty of providing support for a terrorist act and a weapon charge. They were the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court. Nine were convicted and now five have been cleared.
The Nulls and Molitor were accused of supporting leaders of the plan by participating in military-style drills and traveling to see Whitmer’s vacation home in northern Michigan. The key players, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of a kidnapping conspiracy last year in a different court.
In the latest trial, the jury heard 14 days of testimony in Antrim County, the location of Whitmer’s lakeside property, 185 miles (297 kilometers) north of the state Capitol.
There were gasps in the courtroom Friday morning as the jury foreperson announced not guilty verdicts, first for the brothers and then Molitor. Deliberations began Thursday morning and lasted a few more hours Friday.
The men cried as they hugged their lawyers and supporters.
“You gentlemen are free to leave,” Judge Charles Hamlyn said.
Authorities have said an attack on Whitmer began to simmer at a regional summit of anti-government extremists in Dublin, Ohio, in summer 2020. Fox, Croft and William Null were in attendance while an FBI informant also inside the gathering secretly recorded profanity-laced screeds threatening violence against public officials.
The disgust was also fueled by government-imposed restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recordings, text messages and social media posts introduced as evidence at trial.
Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, testified in their own defense, admitting they had attended gun drills and taken rides to check Whitmer’s property. But William Null said he and his brother broke away when talk turned to getting explosives. Molitor said Fox was “incredibly dumb” and wouldn’t pull off a kidnapping.
Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin urged jurors to not be swayed.
“If you help in whole or even in part you’ve satisfied that element” of the crime, Rollstin said in his closing argument Wednesday. “Was he helping him to plan? Was he helping him prepare? The answer is absolutely.”
Michael Null, 41, did not testify and his lawyer took the unusual step of declining to question any witnesses during the trial. Tom Siver said Michael Null did nothing wrong.
Informants and undercover FBI agents were inside the group for months before arrests were made in October 2020. Whitmer was not physically harmed.
Nine men were previously convicted in state or federal court, either through guilty pleas or at three other trials.
After the plot was thwarted, Whitmer blamed then-President Donald Trump, saying he had given “comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.” Out of office, Trump called the kidnapping plan a “fake deal” in 2022.
___
Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
veryGood! (25)
Related
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
- AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
- Seattle man faces 5 assault charges in random sidewalk stabbings
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Jennifer Lopez Gets Loud in Her First Onstage Appearance Amid Ben Affleck Divorce
- Texas man accused of supporting ISIS charged in federal court
- Kyle Richards Swears This Holiday Candle Is the Best Scent Ever and She Uses It All Year
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Ex-Phoenix Suns employee files racial discrimination, retaliation lawsuit against the team
Ranking
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Giuliani’s lawyers after $148M defamation judgment seek to withdraw from his case
- Falling scaffolding plank narrowly misses pedestrians at Boston’s South Station
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores in an effort to turn its business around
- Top Federal Reserve official defends central bank’s independence in wake of Trump win
- USMNT Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal Leg 1 vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV, rosters
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
Bridgerton's Luke Newton Details His Physical Transformation for Season 3's Leading Role
USMNT Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal Leg 1 vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV, rosters
Shel Talmy, produced hits by The Who, The Kinks and other 1960s British bands, dead at 87
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
More than 150 pronghorns hit, killed on Colorado roads as animals sought shelter from snow
Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?