The convicted leader in a plot by members of militia groups to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer faced up to life in prison but was given 16 years by a judge on Tuesday.
Adam Fox and his co-defendant Barry Croft, who is slated to be sentenced Wednesday, were accused of ginning up anti-government extremists just before the 2020 general election. Fox was conspiring to kidnap Whitmer but was also considering destroying a bridge in an attempt to make his escape from northern Michigan.
Whitmer was never harmed, and the FBI, which embedded itself into the group of nearly 12 others, broke up the operation by the fall of 2020, according to court records.
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Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jonker to sentence Fox to life in prison, but he ended up leaning toward the requests of Fox’s attorney, who noted the involvement of the FBI should dampen the severity of Fox’s punishment.
Jonker said he thought a life sentence wouldn’t be appropriate but that the crimes necessitated a “significant sentence.“
Ahead of their arrest, Fox and Croft met with like-minded extremists at an Ohio summit and trained with weapons in Wisconsin and Michigan. Additionally, they drove to Whitmer’s vacation home to “put eyes” on it with night vision goggles, according to court records.
Part of Fox’s plot was inspired by the governor’s restrictive COVID-19 policies in place at the time and a perceived threat to gun ownership under her administration in the state.
“People need to stop with the misplaced anger and place the anger where it should go, and that’s against our tyrannical … government,” Fox said.
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Fox’s attorney Christopher Gibbons said his client shouldn’t receive a life sentence because he said prosecutors exaggerated his role in the plot to kidnap Whitmer. Gibbons said Fox was frequently exposed to “inflammatory rhetoric” by FBI informants.
As for other members involved, Joseph Morrison, Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were convicted for their participation earlier this month. Their times range from seven years to 12 years.
