Two men convicted over plot to kidnap US governor Gretchen Whitmer
Two men have been convicted of conspiring to kidnap a US governor and use a bomb over tough Covid restrictions.
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Two right-wing militia members have been convicted of plotting to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, because of the tough Covid-19 pandemic restrictions she imposed on the northern US state.
A federal jury deliberated for eight hours over two days before finding Adam Fox and Barry Croft guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction - a bomb.
“Today’s verdict confirms this plot was very real and very dangerous,” Andrew Birge, a former US attorney who was appointed by the Justice Department to oversee the trial, said on Tuesday.
“No elected leader should have to contend with what Governor Whitmer faced here,” Mr Birge said in a statement.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate violent extremist plots of this nature seeking to undermine our democracy.”
Fox and Croft, who face a potential sentence of life in prison, were among six alleged right-wing militants arrested in October 2020 following a sting operation by the FBI.
Two defendants - Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta - were found not guilty in April after a nearly one-month trial. Two others pleaded guilty and testified against their co-defendants.
The jury failed to reach a verdict in April after five days of deliberations in the cases of Fox and Croft, the alleged ringleaders of the plot, and they were put on trial again in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
According to prosecutors, the accused were members of the Boogaloo movement, a loosely-shaped ideology formed around gun culture and the belief that a civil war is looming.
According to the indictment, they considered the governor a “tyrant” because of her tough Covid rules and planned to kidnap her and put her on “trial.”
Whitmer, for her part, thanked the prosecutors and said the verdicts “prove that violence and threats have no place in our politics and those who seek to divide us will be held accountable.”
The governor in her statement alluded to recent attacks and threats against the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its agents, which followed this month’s raid of Donald Trump’s Florida home in an effort to recover classified documents kept there by the former president.
“Plots against public officials and threats to the FBI are a disturbing extension of radicalized domestic terrorism that festers in our nation,” Whitmer added.
The arrests came amid growing concerns over armed right-wing extremist groups, which the FBI has said constitute the greatest domestic terror threat to the country.
They came as tensions soared ahead of the November 2020 presidential election between Republican Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, then spilled over into violence on January 6, 2021 with the attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.
Members of right-wing extremist groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have been charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol.
The defendants allegedly conducted surveillance outside Whitmer’s vacation home and took pictures of a nearby bridge they planned to blow up as a diversion while they seized the governor.
Their defense lawyers accused federal agents of entrapment by infiltrating their group with informants and hatching the kidnapping plot.
COVID EXPERT TO STEP DOWN
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert who became the face of America’s fight against Covid-19, announced on Monday that he will leave government service after more than 50 years in December, stepping down as adviser to US President Joe Biden.
In the chaotic early days of the pandemic, Dr Fauci became America’s most trusted expert on Covid-19 and the world often looked to him for a suitable response to a fatal bug that spread globally without logic.
However, Dr Fauci and his expertise did not go unopposed, with clashes with former US president Donald Trump over the virus response, which drew anger from the right.
Dr Fauci now lives with security protection following death threats against his family.
Dr Fauci said in a statement he would be leaving both his position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and that of chief medical Adviser to Mr Biden – though he added: “I am not retiring.”
The 81-year-old, who previously disclosed plans to leave by the end of Mr Biden’s current term, announced he would go in December to “pursue the next chapter of my career.”
Mr Biden extended his “deepest thanks” to Fauci in a White House statement.
“Because of Dr. Fauci’s many contributions to public health, lives here in the United States and around the world have been saved,” the president said, adding that the country is “is stronger, more resilient, and healthier because of him.”
Dr Fauci has helmed the United States’ response to infectious disease outbreaks since the 1980s, from HIV/AIDS to Covid-19, and has served under seven presidents.
When Covid-19 first spread globally from China in 2020, he became a trusted source of reliable information, reassuring the public with his calm and professorial demeanour during frequent media appearances.
But his honest takes on America’s early failures to get to grips with the virus brought Fauci into conflict with former president Donald Trump, and turned the physician-scientist into a hated figure for some on the right.
Dr Fauci now lives with security protection after his family received death threats and harassment.
Mr Biden said that after winning the 2020 election, as he was trying to build a team to lead the Covid-19 response, Dr Fauci was “one of my first calls.”
“In that role, I’ve been able to call him at any hour of the day for his advice as we’ve tackled this once-in-a-generation pandemic,” the US president stated.
Dr Fauci has not shared what he will do after stepping down, but said he wants to inspire and mentor the next generation, citing the “energy and passion” he still has for the field despite his decades of service.“I am proud to have been part of this important work,” he said.
- additional reporting by AFP
Originally published as Two men convicted over plot to kidnap US governor Gretchen Whitmer
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