(WWJ) - One of the convicted "co-leaders" in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and start a civil war, has been sentenced to 235 months in prison, federal officials announced.
Barry Croft Jr., 47, of Bear, Delaware, faced a federal judge on Wednesday morning who sentenced him to 19 and a half years in prison after he was convicted for his role in the plot to kidnap Whitmer in the summer of 2020.
Judge Robert Jonker said Croft did take a leadership role in the plot, which he described as "twisted" and said the group had the equipment needed to pull off the kidnapping.
Croft, along with Adam Fox, 39, of Wyoming, Michigan, were convicted by a federal jury in August 2022 during an 11-day retrial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, prosecutors said "Fox and Croft intended to kidnap Gov. Whitmer from her vacation cottage near Elk Rapids, Mich., and use the destructive devices to facilitate their plot by harming and hindering the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers."
Specifically, the men entertained the idea of placing a bomb under an interstate overpass near a pedestrian boardwalk, authorities claimed. The FBI along with state and local authorities broke up the plot two years ago and arrested 14 people weeks before the 2020 presidential election.
Related
Croft was also convicted of possessing an improvised explosive device, which was a commercial firework refashioned with shrapnel to serve as a hand-grenade, federal officials said.
The sentencing comes one day after Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The judge said Croft was a "more risky individual" than Fox and had more of an issue with law enforcement, leading to his higher prison sentence.
While the government wanted life in prison, the judge said he thinks there is always hope for people.