A second member of an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has reached an agreement with prosecutors.
Kaleb Franks agreed to plead guilty to a kidnapping conspiracy and acknowledged the court will determine his sentence, according to court documents filed Monday. If approved by the court, Franks, 27, would no longer face trial, which was set to take place next month.
GRETCHEN WHITMER KIDNAPPING: CRACKS FORMING IN FEDERAL CASE
“The defendant and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have no agreement as to the applicable Sentencing Guidelines factors or the appropriate guideline range. Both parties reserve the right to seek any sentence within the statutory maximum, and to argue for any criminal history category and score, offense level, specific offense characteristics, adjustments and departures,” the filing said.
The motion was filed in federal court before Judge Robert Jonker.
Franks could face up to life in prison, according to court documents. A co-conspirator in the plot, Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty to a kidnapping charge last year, was sentenced to six years in federal prison in August.
Franks and Garbin were two of six individuals accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer because of opposition to her restrictive COVID-19 policies. The other defendants in the case include Adam Fox, 38; Barry Croft, 46; Daniel Harris, 24; and Brandon Caserta, 33. The case received scrutiny last December when defense attorneys released communications that suggested the FBI “conceived and controlled every aspect” of the alleged plot. In the plea agreement Monday, Franks’s lawyers said he was not “entrapped.”
“The defendant was not entrapped or induced to commit any crimes by these individuals. The defendant also knows Fox, Croft, Harris, and Caserta were not entrapped, based on personal observation and discussions,” the plea agreement said.
Franks’s legal team previously employed an entrapment defense. His lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him, arguing entrapment last year, according to court documents. But last month, a judge denied that motion, arguing there was insufficient evidence.
“At this pretrial stage, the Court concludes the defense has not demonstrated as a matter of law that Defendants’ wills were overcome by the actions of the government,” Jonker ruled.
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Frank and his co-conspirators engaged in multiple training exercises to kidnap the governor, the plea agreement said. Members of the group also allegedly surveilled the governor’s vacation home and planned a final exercise training session in late October 2020 but were arrested during a sting operation. The individuals allegedly attempted to purchase explosives but were intercepted by the FBI, Detroit Free Press reported. They were charged in the kidnapping plot in October 2020.
The FBI had been monitoring the team for some time before the arrest. Defense attorneys in court documents suggested the FBI had informants and undercover agents involved in the case. In Monday’s plea agreement filing, Franks’s lawyer said he “knowingly and voluntarily” participated in the plot.
