DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Three defendants acquitted of plotting to kidnap Michigan governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks to the media following a 'get out the vote' rally at Michigan State University, the night before the midterm election, in East Lansing, Michigan, U.S., November 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 15 (Reuters) - The last three men to face charges in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were acquitted on Friday in a trial in state court on terrorism and firearms charges. An Antrim County jury found the men not guilty after deliberating for about a day following a two-week trial. The three men were the last of more than a dozen men to face federal and state charges in the kidnapping conspiracy. Both men were convicted of domestic terrorism, conspiracy to kidnap and other charges.

Persons: Gretchen Whitmer, Evelyn Hockstein, Eric Molitor, William, Michael Null, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr, Brendan O'Brien, Howard Goller Organizations: Michigan State University, REUTERS, Prosecutors, Democratic, Thomson Locations: East Lansing , Michigan, U.S, Antrim County, Chicago

William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor are the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court. They were not among the main group of six people charged with a kidnapping conspiracy in federal court. Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, acknowledged the road trips but told jurors they didn't really understand the purpose. William Null said he was regularly exposed to “crazy talk" by pot-puffing plot leaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. and didn't think it was too serious until conversations turned to explosives. But during tense cross-examination, prosecutor William Rollstin reminded him of his anti-government views on social media and disgust for Whitmer, especially her COVID-19 restrictions.

Persons: Michigan's, William Null, Michael Null, Eric Molitor, they're, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr, William Rollstin, Whitmer, ” Rollstin, Null, Dan Chappel, Donald Trump, Trump, Ed White Organizations: FBI, Army Locations: Antrim County, Molitor, Bellaire , Michigan, Detroit, Dublin , Ohio

☆ Trial Opens for Men Accused of Aiding Plot to Kidnap Michigan’s Governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Mitch Smith | More About Mitch Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Unlike the men convicted in federal court, they are not charged with planning to participate in the kidnapping itself. They suggested the men were minor players who did not know much about the plans to harm Ms. Whitmer, were egged on by F.B.I. And it’s fair to keep that in your mind when you review all of the evidence.”But prosecutors said the defendants were aiding the leaders of the plot, Barry Croft and Adam Fox. Federal jurors found that Mr. Croft and Mr. Fox had planned to kidnap Ms. Whitmer and blow up a bridge leading to her home in order to disrupt the police response. Mr. Croft is serving a nearly 20-year prison sentence, and Mr. Fox is serving a 16-year sentence.

Persons: . Molitor, Whitmer, Kristyna, William Null, Barry Croft, Adam Fox, Croft, Fox, Ms Organizations: “ Locations: Antrim County, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Mich

Antrim Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreAug 23(Reuters) - A trial for the last three men to face charges in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer began on Wednesday in state court, where they are accused of terrorism and firearms crimes. The Michigan men face up to 20 years in prison if they are convicted of the charges. The three defendants are the last of more than a dozen men to face federal and state charges in the kidnapping conspiracy. The group of men were accused of taking part in an elaborate plot to abduct the governor from her vacation home, then put her on trial for treason. Both men were convicted of domestic terrorism, conspiracy to kidnap and other crimes in a federal trial.

Persons: William Null, Eric Molitor, Michael Null, Shawn Fix, Gretchen Whitmer, William, Charles Hamlyn, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr, Brendan O'Brien, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Antrim County Sheriff's, Prosecutors, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Antrim County, Michigan, Antrim, Antrim County , Michigan, Chicago

☆ Wisconsin man pleads guilty to role in plot to kidnap Michigan governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 15 (Reuters) - A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a reduced charge for his role in a foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, handing another victory to prosecutors who have viewed the scheme as domestic terrorism. Michigan prosecutors accused Brian Higgins, 54, of aiding the conspiracy by surveilling the Democratic governor's vacation home. As part of a plea deal, he admitted in Antrim County court that he attempted to provide material support for terrorism and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Two other men, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pleaded guilty and cooperated with federal prosecutors. This month, Attorney General Nessel said she herself was among potential targets of a man who federal prosecutors say threatened to kill employees of the state of Michigan who are Jewish.

☆ Michigan Attorney General Nessel says she and other Jewish officials were targeted for murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 16: U.S. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a campaign rally held by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) designed to get Michigan State University students, faculty and staff out to the polls on October 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. The race between Congresswoman Slotkin and Michigan State Senator Tom Barrett for Michigan's newly configured 7th Congressional District is one of the two most expensive U.S. House campaigns in the country. In her tweet, Nessel wrote: "The FBI has confirmed I was a target of the heavily armed defendant in this matter." "Probable cause exists that [Carpenter] made threats to cause injury and death to Jewish members of the Michigan government," an FBI agent wrote in a complaint against Carpenter. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday that the FBI told her that she was among the group of Jewish state elected officials targeted for murder by a "heavily armed defendant" who has been arrested.

☆ The Paradox of Prosecuting Domestic Terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( James Verini | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +52 min

The preventive approach to domestic terrorism goes back even further than the 1990s and it begins with the basic police work and surveillance of the joint terrorism task forces. In fact, there is no section of the U.S. Criminal Code that criminalizes domestic terrorism as such. The absence of clear law around domestic terrorism, and the imperatives of prevention, mean that investigators and prosecutors who work domestic terrorism cases must focus on more common charges: weapons violations, illegal drug possession, burglary, aiding and abetting and so forth. But this was not enough to overrule the fear of domestic terrorism that was gripping the nation and that hung in the courtroom. It reflected the legal paradoxes of the case and domestic terrorism law in general or, maybe more accurately, the absence of it.

☆ Delaware Man Is Sentenced in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Another of the men convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced Wednesday to 235 months, or nearly 20 years in prison. Barry Croft, 47 years old, of Bear, Del., was described by federal prosecutors as the ideas man in the foiled 2020 plan to kidnap Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat. The scheme was stopped by the Federal Bureau of Investigation before the men could harm the governor. The group of plotters was saturated with informants, and defense attorneys claimed the men were encouraged and entrapped.

Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison Wednesday, more than what was meted out to a co-defendant. “I do think of Mr. Croft as the more seriously culpable … more so than even Mr. Fox," Jonker said. “I think he was the person who gave Mr. Fox something to grab on to." Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said Croft needs to go away for an extended period of time to protect the public. I say all of this to say that Mr. Croft needed some intervention."

☆ Another militia member in Michigan governor kidnapping plot faces sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - Another right-wing militia member convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer faces several years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday in a U.S. District Court. Barry Croft Jr., 47, a member of the far-right Three Percenters militia group, was convicted in August by a federal court jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan, of plotting to abduct the Democratic governor. Croft and Fox were among 13 men arrested in October 2020 in the kidnapping conspiracy. Prosecutors had accused the two of conspiring to trigger "a second American Revolution" by kidnapping Whitmer. Whitmer, co-chairman of Joe Biden's presidential election campaign that year, had clashed publicly with then-President Donald Trump over her COVID-19 policies.

☆ Convicted ringleader in Michigan governor kidnapping plot faces sentencing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Steve Gorman | Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 27 (Reuters) - The convicted leader of a foiled plot by members of right-wing militia groups to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer faces a possible life term in prison when he is sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Co-defendant Barry Croft Jr., another member of the Three Percenters militia group, was convicted of the same charges at the same trial and was scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday. Fox and Croft were among 13 men arrested in October 2020 on state or federal crimes in the kidnapping conspiracy. The same jury failed to reach a verdict for Fox and Croft, resulting in a mistrial for them. Two other men who pleaded guilty to kidnapping conspiracy charges testified for the prosecution at the first federal trial and during the retrial of Fox and Croft about four months later.

☆ Three of the men involved in the plot to kidnap Michigan governor sentenced to prison
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison, followed by his son-in-law Morrison at 10 years and Bellar at seven. Judge Thomas Wilson presided over the first batch of convictions in state court, following the high-profile conspiracy convictions of four others in federal court. Bellar is clueless about any plot to kidnap the governor,” attorney Andrew Kirkpatrick said again in a court filing last week. Separately, in federal court in Grand Rapids, Fox and Croft face possible life sentences in two weeks. Two men who pleaded guilty received substantial breaks: Ty Garbin is free after a 2 1/2-year prison term while Kaleb Franks was given a four-year sentence.

[1/2] Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a vaccine mobilization event at TCF center in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca CookDec 15 (Reuters) - Three men convicted of playing supporting roles in a foiled plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan in 2020 were sentenced to multiple years in prison on Thursday, as two of the conspiracy's ringleaders await sentencing before the end of the month. During the two-hour hearing, the men - dressed in orange prison jumpsuits - sat with their attorneys with their hands shackled to their waists. The group planned to break into Whitmer's vacation home, kidnap her and take her at gunpoint to stand "trial" on treason charges, prosecutors said. In August, two alleged militia members accused of conspiring to trigger a "second American revolution" in the kidnapping plot were found guilty of kidnapping conspiracy charges.

REUTERS/Seth Herald/File PhotoOct 26 (Reuters) - Three men accused of aiding a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were found guilty on Wednesday of taking part in a conspiracy that prosecutors ascribed to hostility over restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group planned to break into Whitmer's vacation home, kidnap her and take her at gunpoint to stand "trial" on treason charges, prosecutors said. Seven of the accused, including Morrison, Musico and Bellar, have now been convicted by a jury or pleaded guilty to playing roles in the conspiracy. In the earlier trial, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of plotting to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home. Morrison and Musico were accused of hosting tactical training sessions on their property in a remote part of Michigan.

REUTERS/Seth Herald/File PhotoOct 26 (Reuters) - A Michigan jury on Wednesday found three men guilty of aiding a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, a plot that prosecutors said grew out of hostility over restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The verdict was a victory for state prosecutors who argued that the men on trial assisted two others who in August were found guilty in federal court of kidnapping conspiracy. In the earlier trial, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of plotting to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home. Prosecutors said Morrison, Musico and Bellar were members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen. Morrison and Musico were accused of hosting tactical training sessions on their property in a remote part of Michigan.

☆ 3 men convicted of supporting plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials in 2020 and said he wanted to kidnap her. Prosecutors said COVID-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen. Defense attorneys argued that the three men had broken ties with Fox by late summer 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus.

REUTERS/Seth Herald/File PhotoOct. 26 (Reuters) - A Michigan jury on Wednesday found three men guilty of aiding a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, a plot that prosecutors said grew out of hostility over restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The verdict was a victory for state prosecutors who argued that the men assisted two others who in August were found guilty of kidnapping conspiracy in federal court. In the earlier trial, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of plotting to abduct the Democratic governor from her vacation home. Prosecutors said Morrison, Musico and Bellar were members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen. Morrison and Musico were accused of hosting tactical training sessions on their property in a remote part of Michigan.

☆ 3 men convicted of supporting plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer waits to speak at a canvass kickoff on Michigan Primary Election Day on August 2, 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Prosecutors said Covid-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen. Defense attorneys argued that the three men had broken ties with Fox by late summer 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus.

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Michigan jurors on Tuesday began deliberations in the trial of three men accused of assisting in an elaborate plot two years ago to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in opposition to strict coronavirus restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Prosecutors said the plot was motivated by opposition to coronavirus restrictions imposed by the governor and grievances related to the 2020 presidential election. In August, a federal jury in Grand Rapids convicted Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. of conspiracy in the plot. Two other defendants were found not guilty in the first federal trial. read moreIn September, a federal judge reduced the sentence of Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty to participating in the plot after his testimony helped convict Fox and Croft.

☆ Juror dismissed from Michigan governor kidnapping case accused of flirting with defendant
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A juror was accused of flirting with a defendant charged in connection with the plot to kidnap Michigan's governor. The female juror was relieved of her duties after "smiling" and "eye contact" between the two. The interactions were with Paul Bellar, 23, standing trial on charges of providing material for a terrorist act. Bellar, 23, is standing trial in Michigan state court with co-defendants and fellow Wolverine Watchmen members Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico. In August, two other men, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted in the plot, in which they sought to kidnap Gov.

☆ Accused of flirting, juror dismissed from Whitmer kidnapping plot trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

JACKSON, Mich. — A judge has dismissed a young woman from the jury hearing the trial of three men in connection with a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after attorneys accused her of flirting with one of the defendants. The three are charged in state court in Jackson, Michigan, with providing material support for a terrorist act. “Since the start of the trial ... there’s been non-verbal communication between one of the jurors — a female — and Mr. Bellar,” Rollstin said. Two other men, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted in August of federal crimes in connection with the plot.

☆ Accused of flirting, juror dismissed from Whitmer plot trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A judge has dismissed a young woman from the jury hearing the trial of three men in connection with a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after attorneys accused her of flirting with one of the defendants. William Rollstin, who is prosecuting the case for the Michigan attorney general, raised concerns about the juror before Wilson during a meeting in chambers Wednesday. "Since the start of the trial ... there's been non-verbal communication between one of the jurors — a female — and Mr. Bellar," Rollstin said. Two other men, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted in August of federal crimes in connection with the plot.

☆ GOP nominee jokes about 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Tudor Dixon, Michigan’s GOP nominee for governor, joked about a 2020 kidnapping plot against rival Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a pair of campaign events Friday, sparking swift denunciations from Democrats. For someone so worried about getting kidnapped, Gretchen Whitmer sure is good at taking business hostage and holding it for ransom,” Dixon said at one event. Later that day, in describing a recent appearance by Whitmer, Dixon said, “The look on her face was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is happening. “Multiple people were convicted in a domestic terrorist plot to kidnap the Governor and Tudor Dixon thinks it’s a laughing matter,” Newton tweeted.

Search resuls for: "Barry Croft"

23 mentions found