Ringleader of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison
This combination of images was provided by Kent County, Mich., Jail. shows Barry Croft Jr., left, and Adam Fox.
Kent County Sheriff’s Office via AP
A man found guilty of playing a key role in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been convicted 19 and a half years in prison Fourth, more than what was met for a co-defendant.
A prosecutor called Barry Croft Jr., 47, the American version of Omar Abdel-Rahman, “The Blind Sheikh” mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Croft and his accomplice Adam Fox, 39, sentenced in August about a plot to carry out the kidnapping and use of weapons of mass destruction to attack Whitmer, who has drawn hate from far-right groups for his efforts to contain the spread of Covid in 2020.
Fox was sentenced to 192 months (16 years) in prison on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker, setting the stage in the Grand Rapids courtroom for Croft’s fate and 235-month sentence.
While Jonker did not deliver the life sentence prosecutors were seeking, the judge largely agreed with the government’s position that Croft fueled the conspiracy with dangerous rhetoric.
The judge called Croft an “idea guy” who incited his accomplices with “wrong” and “twisted” ideologies.
“I actually think Mr. Croft is more guilty…even more than Mr. Fox,” said Jonker. “I think he’s the one who gave Mr. Fox something to cling to.”
Assistant US Attorney Nils Kessler said Croft needed to be absent for an extended period to protect the public.
“This man is completely radical,” Kessler said. “He hasn’t changed his mind.”
Kessler said Croft is as dangerous as a foreign terrorist seeking to harm Americans.
“He is the spiritual leader of this group, of this movement in the same way that some sheiks in ISIS or Al Qaeda might be,” Kessler said. “And they don’t have to be tactically good or someone who’s best with a gun on the battlefield – he’s the guy with the idea.”
Defense attorney Josh Blanchard begged Jonker to review his client’s long history of mental illness and drug abuse. The lawyer seemed to hold back his emotions as he described Croft’s unstable childhood.
“His mother had severe and uncontrollable bipolar disorder, so she ended up with a Social Security disability because of it,” says Blanchard.
“His father, who has been described as cold and aloof, taped aluminum foil to the ceiling of his bedroom so the aliens could not reach his brainwaves. I say all this. to say he needs intervention.”
A jury in April failed to reach a verdict against Fox and Croft, forcing a judge to declare a trial false in court. The second test proved decisive.
white, who was re-elected last monthwas the focus of far-right fury in 2020 when she imposed multiple blockade measures to limit the spread of covid.
Then-President Donald Trump seemed to support that protest in an all-caps tweet.
A representative for Whitmer on Wednesday said the governor had no comment other than a claims she made when Croft and Fox were convicted, stressing that the conspiracies “against state officials and threats to the FBI were a disturbing extension of the extreme domestic terrorism that was raging.” in our nation, threatening the very foundations of our republic.”
