Prosecution rests case in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot trial
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The federal government has wrapped up its case in the retrial of two men charged in connection with an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home — a scheme that the feds say also involved killing her security detail and blowing up a bridge to slow down cops — because they were upset over her handling of the pandemic.
Attorneys for defendants Adam Fox and Barry Croft are not expected to call many witnesses, meaning jurors could begin their deliberations after closing arguments Friday.
After the government rested, the defense sought an acquittal from the judge, arguing the government had not proven its case based on the evidence presented. But the judge concluded that a reasonable jury could find the defendants guilty — not that they should, but that they could — and denied the request.
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Jurors heard from a handful of government witnesses Thursday, mostly FBI agents and analysts who gathered and examined evidence shortly after the October 2020 arrests of six men facing federal charges in the alleged kidnapping plot. Five were arrested in an FBI sting outside an Ypsilanti warehouse. Croft was arrested at a gas station in New Jersey.
The government rested its case after seven days of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses, including Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks — two co-defendants who pleaded guilty early on and agreed to testify against their alleged cohorts.
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Franks and Garbin testified in the first trial, which ended in no convictions after five days of jury deliberations. The jury acquitted defendants Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta and deadlocked on the charges against Fox and Croft, triggering a mistrial.
The defense subpoenaed Harris and Caserta to testify in the retrial, but both men opted not to testify.
If convicted, Fox and Croft both face up to life in prison on kidnapping conspiracy and conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction.
The jury was dismissed at 1:30 p.m. Thursday after hearing from the defense's first witness: Colleen Kuester, a Wisconsin woman who attended an event in Cambria, Wisconsin, frequently cited throughout the trial.
Kuester described the event as a family friendly affair that her son particularly enjoyed, getting to participate in target practice. During cross examination of Kuester, government prosecutors played a recording of Croft telling his daughter to back away from him, saying "honey, I'm making explosives here." Kuester said the recording did not reflect her experience of the event.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer kidnap plot trial: Prosecution rests case
