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Jury Selection Begins in Third Trial Tied to Alleged Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Plot

JACKSON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Jury selection got underway on Monday in a third trial connected to a 2020 anti-government plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Joe Morrison, Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar are charged with three crimes, including providing material support for terrorist acts. All were members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a paramilitary group that trained in the Jackson area.

They’re accused of assisting others who have been convicted of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan.

Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks pleaded guilty in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The alleged leaders, Barry Croft and Adam Fox, were convicted at trial in August, while two more men were acquitted last spring.

Lawyers for Morrison, Musico and Bellar say the men cut ties with Fox before the kidnapping plot accelerated in summer 2020; Bellar had moved to South Carolina.

The men claim an undercover informant and his FBI handlers entrapped them.

Katie Heid
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Katie anchors weekday radio newscasts for Michigan News Source from noon until 7 p.m. on various affiliates. She also contributes daily articles to Michigan News Source. When she's not scouring the state for news, she loves spending time with her husband and two sons.