Prosecutors say men painstakingly planned Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s kidnapping in closing arguments for trial over plot

• The trial over what prosecutors said was a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is near an end.
• In closing arguments, defense attorneys said FBI informants persuaded the accused planners to cross a line.
• Prosecutors said each of the defendants painstakingly planned the kidnapping mechanics.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented closing arguments on Friday in a trial over what prosecutors said was a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Two of the six people federal prosecutors charged in the scheme pleaded guilty before the month-long trial began, admitting that they went through firearms training and scoped out Whitmer’s northern Michigan home ahead of a planned kidnapping.

In messages prosecutors obtained, the group appeared to be upset by the governor’s strict restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Seven other people arrested on charges related to the scheme have cases pending in state court.

The four others federal prosecutors charged — Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta — sat trial on kidnapping and conspiracy charges in a federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their defense attorneys argued that their rhetoric was heated but protected by the First Amendment and that whatever plans they may have had never came to fruition.

The judge overseeing the case told jurors that they may also consider whether FBI informants entrapped the defendants into crossing the line into illegal acts, USA Today reported.

“Somebody rattles the keys, somebody beats the drum, and gets ’em all worked up,” Christopher Gibbons, an attorney for Fox, said in closing arguments on Friday, Reuters reported. “That’s unacceptable in America. That’s not how it works. You don’t make terrorists so we can arrest them.”

Nils Kessler, one of the prosecutors in the case, said the defendants had painstakingly planned out the kidnapping, according to Reuters.

“They trained to kidnap the governor, they cased her house in the middle of the night, they mapped it out, they planned it, they gathered weapons and bombs,” Kessler said. “That is the conspiracy that they are charged with, and in America, it’s a crime.”

The members of the group were arrested in October 2020, as messages prosecutors obtained showed that they discussed obtaining explosives that could blow up a bridge to slow police response to the kidnapping. Ty Garbin, one of the members who pleaded guilty to charges against him, testified that they planned to cause chaos ahead of the 2020 election and prevent now-President Joe Biden from winning, the Associated Press reported.

Harris was the only defendant to take the stand. He testified that he joined a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, to maintain the skills he developed while in the marines. He said he never intended to take down Whitmer.

Attorneys for each of the four defendants are expected to present closing arguments through Friday afternoon before jurors begin to deliberate.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.