Lengthy prison terms for 3 who aided Whitmer kidnap plotter
A judge on Thursday handed down the longest prison terms so far in the plot to kidnap Michigan's governor, sentencing three men who forged an early alliance with a leader of the scheme before the FBI broke it up in 2020. Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were not charged with having a direct role in the conspiracy but were members of a paramilitary group that trained with Adam Fox, who separately faces a possible life sentence on Dec. 27 for his federal conviction. Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison, followed by his son-in-law Morrison at 10 years and Bellar at seven.
news.yahoo.comAccused of flirting, juror dismissed from Whitmer plot trial
A judge has dismissed a young woman from the jury hearing the trial of three men in connection with a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after attorneys accused her of flirting with one of the defendants. Judge Thomas Wilson announced Friday that the woman has been removed from the jury, two days after attorneys raised concerns the juror was having too much non-verbal communication with defendant Paul Bellar, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reported. “It didn’t just happen on one day — it happened over multiple days,” Wilson said of the juror’s behavior.
news.yahoo.comJudge orders 3 to trial in plot to kidnap Michigan governor
A Michigan judge on Monday, March 29, 2021 ordered three men to stand trial in a plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Jackson County District Court Judge Michael Klaeren ruled there was enough evidence and bound over Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico to circuit court to stand trial. (Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center via AP)A Michigan judge on Monday ordered three men to stand trial in a plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Jackson County District Court Judge Michael Klaeren ruled there was enough evidence and bound over Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico to circuit court to stand trial. AdThe FBI in October said it broke up a plot to kidnap Whitmer by anti-government extremists upset over her coronavirus restrictions.