The men – who were heard talking during the trial about Whitmer’s murder, a bridge blast and other violence – said nothing shocking, said attorney Michael Hills. He noted that one of the defense witnesses who thought to call to testify was planning to claim that he “heard worse from pregnant mothers in the Capitol”. “If I do not like the governor and they are crude words, I can do it in our country. This is the beautiful thing about this country. “That’s the wonderful thing about it,” said Hills. “Well, freedom in America. He is still here. “ But for others, Friday’s result after a weekly trial was a creepy reminder that political violence raging in the US too often goes unpunished. From attacks on social media and elsewhere that disproportionately affect women lawmakers to the January 6 US Capitol Uprising and Whitmer’s kidnapping plan, people are increasingly angry and feel daring to act on it, they say. . Whitmer, a Democrat, accused former President Donald Trump of sparking outrage over COVID-19 restrictions and refusing to condemn far-right extremists. On Friday, her office said people across the country were experiencing “a normalization” of violence. A Democratic lawmaker said the threats would not be taken seriously “until someone dies.” “The conspiracy to kidnap and assassinate a governor may seem like an anomaly. “But we have to be honest about what it’s really: the result of violent, divisive rhetoric that is very common across our country,” Whitmer’s chief of staff, JoAnne Huls, said in a statement. “There must be accountability and consequences for those who commit heinous crimes. “Without responsibility, extremists will be encouraged.” Whitmer has not publicly commented on the outcome of the case. He was not a witness in the trial and did not attend the trial. Four men – Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris – were arrested in October 2020. Federal prosecutors said they wanted to kidnap Whitmer because they were angry about her and her restrictions. “Tyrant” that had to be removed. The accusations came at a particularly divisive time, with the debate raging over the pandemic and a few weeks before the 2020 presidential election between Trump and Joe Biden. Armed demonstrations took place in the Michigan Capitol and elsewhere in the United States, and on the streets of many cities, demonstrations over the assassination of George Floyd by police sometimes turned violent. Prosecutors presented evidence at the federal trial in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by undercover agents, an FBI informant and two men who pleaded guilty to the plot. The jurors also read and listened to covertly recorded conversations, violent social media posts and chat messages. Defense attorneys have argued that the men were trapped by the FBI – they were drawn into an alleged conspiracy in which they would never have been involved if they had not been seduced by the government and its informants. They portrayed the men as unpredictable who were often high-level and easily influenced, or in one case, as a former army member who wanted to continue training in firearms. Before returning their verdicts, the jury said that after almost five days of consultations they could not agree unanimously on all 10 charges against the men. Harris, 24, and Caserta, 33, were acquitted of conspiracy. Harris was also acquitted of charges related to explosives and weapons. The court could not issue verdicts for Fox, 38, and Croft, 46, which means the government can try them again. U.S. Attorney Andrew Birz said after the verdicts that “we have two defendants awaiting trial and we will return to work for that.” Hills, who defended Caserta, said the result was a message to the government that the FBI’s actions were “unconscious.” He said the federal government should “let it go” instead of referring Croft and Fox to a second trial. Republican MP Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on Twitter after the verdict that “the FBI and the DOJ need a complete and complete cleansing. “All rot must be removed and these services must be restored.” Others were surprised by the jury’s decision, saying it was a dangerous example. Democrat Debbie Dingell, a U.S. lawmaker, called for an end to “hatred and division in this country” and said she was “deeply concerned” that today’s decision in the Whitmer abduction trial threats”. Michigan Lt. Gen. Garlin Gilchrist called on elected officials, parents, teachers and others to resist “these acts of hatred and to teach our children that there is a better way.” “Our differences must be settled at the ballot box, not through violence,” he said. “We need to be honest and clear about what causes extremist violence and do what we can to address its root cause.” Michigan MP Lori Pohutsky, a Democrat, tweeted that a man who threatened to kill her in 2020 had been acquitted. “The next time you ask why we can not get good people to run for office, think about today ‘s verdict,” he said, adding: “This will not be taken seriously until someone dies.”
Find the full AP coverage for the Whitmer kidnapping trial at:
