US: 2 men sentenced over plot to kidnap Michigan governor

A US District Court has sentenced two men behind a foiled attempt to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 to prison time.

Barry Croft Jr. was sentenced to over 19 years in prison Wednesday after being found guilty in August for his role in the kidnapping scheme. 

Adam Fox was handed a 16-year sentence Tuesday at the same trial. 

What do we know about the plan?

The two men sought to break into Whitmer's vacation home and kidnap her at gunpoint.

The duo planned to subject Whitmer to a so-called "trial" on bogus treason charges, and then execute her, prosecutors said. The plot also involved detonating a bomb to hinder law enforcement's response to the kidnapping.

The government had pushed for a life sentence. The prosecutors accused Fox of fueling the plot and Croft of providing the bomb-making skills.

But Judge Robert J. Jonker said a life sentence was "not necessary" to punish Fox and deter similar acts in the future.

"It's too much. Something less than life gets the job done in this case,'' Jonker said, later adding that 16 years in prison "is still in my mind a very long time.''

After serving his prison sentence, Fox will then have to serve five years of supervised release. The two years he has served in custody will be counted towards his sentence.

What triggered the attempted kidnapping?

The US government says the pair were members of a far-right movement and had ties to the Three Percenters militia that was involved in the Capitol Riots.

In total, six men were accused of plotting the kidnapping. Two other defendants were found not guilty in the first trial, while two more pleaded guilty and testified against their co-defendants.

The defendants decided to kidnap the governor due to public health measures Whitmer had imposed in Michigan during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors accused them of attempting to push the country into armed conflict ahead of the heated presidential race in November 2020.

Whitmer also served as co-chairman of Joe Biden's presidential campaign that year. She publicly clashed with then-President Donald Trump over her COVID policies.

The governor had accused Trump of instigating political extremism. She referenced a campaign rally in Michigan where Trump's open criticism of her encouraged "Lock her up" chants from the crowds.

rmt,wd/dj (AP, Reuters)