GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) -- A jury in Grand Rapids heard closing arguments on Monday and began deliberating in the retrial of two men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Jurors were sent home for the day late Monday afternoon and will resume deliberations on Tuesday morning.
Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. are charged with conspiring to abduct Whitmer as part of an anti-government uprising in 2020.
Defense lawyers say the two men were “big talkers” who sometimes said outrageous things when they had been smoking marijuana, and were exercising their right to free speech when they became victims of entrapment by an FBI sting operation.
The men and their allies are said to have been upset over COVID-19 restrictions put in place by Gov. Whitmer during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors allege the men were leaders of a plan to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in Elk Rapids, Michigan, in an attempt to incite chaos and political uprising across the United States.
This is the second trial for Fox, 39, and Croft, 46, after a trial that concluded in April resulted in a hung jury.
Two other men, Daniel Harris, 24, and Brandon Caserta, 33, were acquitted of all charges at that time, while an additional two men previously pleaded guilty.
At the Michigan Democratic Party's convention in Lansing on Sunday, Gov. Whitmer said she had not been following the retrial, but says the "violent rhetoric in this country" remains a big concern.
"This is a dangerous trend that is happening," Whitmer said. "We cannot let it become normalized and I do hope that anyone that’s out there plotting to hurt their fellow Americans is held accountable."
Related
