U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker acknowledged the fight on the fifth day of consultations, but told the jury to continue working over lunch. Decisions on conviction or acquittal must be unanimous. “I know this is difficult. “We all know it’s difficult,” Jonker told the jury. There are 10 charges in the case: one against Brandon Caserta, two against Adam Fox, three against Barry Croft Jr. and four against Daniel Harris. All men face the main charge of a kidnapping conspiracy. the other categories are related to explosives and firearms. The judge read the jury note in public. “We have reached a decision on many points. However, they are locked into others. How should we proceed? ” said the note. Jonker remembered the phrase, “Is this your final answer?” from the ABC television show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” “Before this final answer, I would like you to go back and make another attempt to see if you can agree on the issues you are stuck on,” Jonker said. Discussions resumed earlier on Friday with a court clerk handing over a large plastic bag containing pens, known as exhibit 291. The pens were requested before jurors went home on Thursday. The pens stuck to a commercial-grade firework were intended to act as shrapnel, the researchers said. An improvised explosive device was reportedly detonated during training in September 2020, about a month before the men were arrested. In his closing remarks on April 1, U.S. Attorney General Nils Kessler said Croft wanted to test the explosive as a possible weapon for use against Whitmer’s security team. He said he said the pens would be so hot they could go “straight into your skin”. The trial now covers 20 days from March 8, including jury selection, evidence, final arguments and jury hearings. Prosecutors offered testimony from undercover agents, a critical 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. Prosecutors said the group was steeped in anti-government extremism and angry at Whitmer’s restrictions on COVID-19. Defense attorneys, however, said any plan was to create government agents who were integrated into the group and manipulated the men. Croft is from Delaware Bear, while the others are from Michigan. Whitmer, a Democrat, rarely spoke publicly about the plot, although she referred to “surprises” during her term that seemed “something out of the ordinary” when she applied for re-election on March 17. He accused former President Donald Trump of inciting anger over the coronavirus restrictions and of refusing to condemn far-right extremists such as those charged in the case.
Find the full AP coverage for the Whitmer kidnapping trial at: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial
White reported from Detroit.
