(WWJ) Five men accused of planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have a new trial date after defense lawyers asked for more time to prepare.
U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker said Tuesday he is pushing the trial from October of this year to March 8, 2022.
The Detroit News reports the move comes three days after defense lawyers requested a delay due to a large amount of evidence and questions about whether FBI agents and as many as a dozen informants drove the conspiracy and entrapped the defendants.
The government says the five men — Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Jr, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta — were upset over coronavirus-related restrictions when they conspired to kidnap Whitmer, in October of 2020.
READ: Criminal Complaint - Plot to kidnap Whitmer
They pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping
A sixth man, Ty Garbin, pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced to slightly more than six years in prison. In his plea agreement, Garbin said the group trained at his property near Luther, Michigan, constructing a "shoot house" to resemble Whitmer's vacation home and "assaulting it with firearms."
Eight other men are facing state charges in connection with the case.
