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Michigan jurors have convicted three men today (October 26) of aiding a plot to kidnap the state's governor in 2020, according to the New York Times.
Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico were accused of helping Adam Fox —who was convicted in federal court of conspiring to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home and possibly kill her — according to the publication. The men considered the Whitmer's Covid-19 restrictions to be tyrannical.
“Their gang was organized, their gang was mobilizing, and their gang was training for action,” Sunita Doddamani, an assistant attorney general in Michigan, told jurors during closing arguments (via the New York Times).
Neither Bellar, Morrison or Musico faced federal charges in the conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer, according to the New York Times. Instead, they were charged in state court with providing support for terrorist acts, including training with one of the federal defendants.
Though the three men were not accused of committing a terrorist act themselves, prosecutors told jurors that the defendants' actions helped support a plot, which amounted to a crime, according to the New York Times. Prosecutors described the defendants as threats to democracy itself, while the Musico's attorney claimed his client's actions were protected by the First and Second Amendments.
Ultimately, jurors convicted Bellar, Morrison and Musico on all charges. The most serious charges carry prison terms of up to 20 years.