Closing Arguments Begin in Case Accusing Four of Plotting to Kidnap Michigan Democrat Gov. Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer

Jurors in the case against four Michigan men accused of plotting to kidnap Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are hearing closing arguments Friday, starting with a prosecutor urging them to convict and arguing the defendants were “filled with rage.”

The closing arguments are being delivered by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler in federal court in Grand Rapids, according to the Associated Press.

Defendants Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are charged with conspiracy.

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Commentary: The DOJ’s Whitmer ‘Kidnapping’ Case Faces Uncertain Future

Gretchen Whitmer

The U.S. Department of Justice received an unwelcome Christmas gift from defense attorneys representing five men charged with conspiring to “kidnap” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020: a motion to dismiss the case.

The Christmas Day filing is the latest blow to the government’s scandal-ridden prosecution; defense counsel is building a convincing argument that the FBI used undercover agents and informants to entrap their clients in a wide-ranging scheme that resulted in bad press for Donald Trump as early voting was underway in the key swing state last year. What began as random social media chatter to oppose lockdown policies quickly morphed into a dangerous plan to abduct Whitmer as soon as the FBI took over.

A Michigan judge delayed the trial, now set for March 8, so defense attorneys could investigate the misconduct of FBI special agents handling at least a dozen government informants involved in the caper.

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