Three men have been convicted of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

The three men are charged with supporting terrorism in a kidnapping conspiracy MichiganThe governors were found guilty on all counts on Wednesday in a trial centered on paramilitary exercises and brutal contempt for the government the day before The 2020 election.

Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musica and Paul Bellard were there found guilty of “material support” of a terrorist act as members of a group known as the Wolverine Guardians.

Judge Thomas Wilson ordered all three jailed while they await sentencing on December 15.

They conducted weapons training in rural Jackson County with the ringleader of the kidnapping scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials and said he wanted to capture her.

The state court trial was an offshoot of the main federal case, which produced mixed results: Fox and an ally were convicted of conspiracy, two others pleaded guilty, but two others were acquitted.

Jurors in Jackson, Michigan, read and heard violent anti-government speech and support for a “boogaloo,” a civil war that could be sparked by a shocking kidnapping.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (pictured): Sentences ‘are further proof that violence and threats have no place in our politics’

Prosecutors said the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Whitmer have paid off in attracting more people to the Guard.

“The facts slowly come out and you start to see — wow — things that people knew about were going on,” Assistant Attorney General Bill Rolstein told jurors.

“When you see how close Adam Fox got to the governor, you see how a very bad event was foiled.”

Morrison, 28, Musica, 44, and Bellard, 24, were also found guilty of possession of a weapon and gang involvement. Prosecutors said Wolverine Watchmen was a criminal enterprise.

Morrison, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, and Musica were emotional as they watched the verdicts on video from outside the courtroom.

The convictions “are further evidence that violence and threats have no place in our politics,” said Whitmer, who has not been a witness or spectator in the state or federal court cases.

“Those who seek to sow disorder through violent conspiracies will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Whitmer said.

Paul Bellar was taken into custody following his sentencing in court before Jackson County District Court Judge Thomas Wilson

Jackson County District Court Judge Thomas Wilson hears the sentencing of Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison and Pete Musica

Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat running for re-election, welcomed the result and praised law enforcement. After hearing testimony for nine days, jurors deliberated Tuesday afternoon and less than two hours Wednesday.

“Jackson County is known to not have, I would say, liberal jurors. They tend to be a conservative group,” Nessel said.

“But I think they saw here that this is not a political matter. These are persons who did not join any party at all. In fact, all together they were simply anti-government.”

Defense attorneys argued that Morrison, Musica and Bellard severed ties with Fox before Whitmer’s conspiracy became known by late summer 2020; Bellar left the state.

They also didn’t travel with Fox to tour the governor’s mansion or take part in key weekend drills at a makeshift “shooting house” in Luther, Michigan.

“In this country, you’re allowed to speak, but you’re only judged when you walk the walk,” Musica’s attorney Kareem Johnson said in his closing arguments.

They couldn’t argue with the trap. But attorneys have attacked the tactics and motives of Dan Chappell, 36, the undercover informant. He received instructions from FBI agents, secretly recorded conversations and created a deep cache of messages exchanged with the men.

Chappell, an Army veteran, said he joined the Guard because he wanted to hone his marksmanship skills. But when the conversation turned to harming the police, he went to the FBI and agreed to gather evidence for the investigation that eventually identified Whitmer’s target.

Chappell told jurors it was “absolutely” risky.

“If I was ever compromised,” he said, “it would be a bad day.”

Pete Musica, top right, and Joseph Morrison, center, are seen on video as they react to the guilty verdict being read in the courtroom

Whitmer, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 8, was never physically harmed. Undercover agents and informants had been on Fox’s team for months. In October 2020, the scheme was busted with 14 arrests.

Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping in federal court in August. Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were waived last spring. Ty Garbin and Caleb Franks pleaded guilty.

Five of the 14 people were charged in state court in Antrim County, where Whitmer’s second home is located. A judge has yet to determine if there is enough evidence to send them to trial.

In 2020, Whitmer accused then-President Donald Trump of stoking mistrust and anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to prosecute hate groups and extremists like those charged in Michigan. Protesters, including many with guns, filled the state Capitol that year and blocked traffic during a series of violent demonstrations.

Whitmer extended her criticism of her election opponent Tudor Dixon, telling The Associated Press hours after Jackson’s trial that the Republican candidate was “part of the problem.”

“She uncovered a plot to kidnap and kill me. She doesn’t allow other threats to me and my family,” Whitmer said Wednesday.

The governor was referring to Dixon’s remarks in September, when she told supporters that Whitmer is “good at taking businesses hostage and holding them to ransom.”

Dixon’s reaction to the verdicts was more muted, saying she was “glad that justice has been served.”