By Canadian Press

3rd day ends with no verdict yet in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot

Apr 6, 2022 | 2:21 PM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A jury in Michigan still has no verdict to deliver after three days of deliberations in a trial that centers on a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker sent jurors home Wednesday afternoon, saying it’s a “delicate time” in the talks. They will return Thursday.

Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are charged with a kidnapping conspiracy. Three of them also face additional charges, including conspiracy to use an explosive.

The trial began with jury selection on March 8. There were 13 days of testimony.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

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Jurors entered a third day of deliberations Wednesday in a trial that centers on a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker disclosed that the jury had asked for sticky notes. He also told lawyers that two jurors saw him outside the courthouse. Their reaction: “Wow, you look so different without your robe,” the judge said.

Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are charged with a kidnapping conspiracy. Three of them also face additional charges, including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, namely an explosive.

The trial has covered 18 days since March 8, including 13 days of testimony.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy against Whitmer was fueled by anti-government extremism and anger over her COVID-19 restrictions. The men trained with a crudely built “shoot house” to replicate her vacation home in September 2020, according to testimony.

Fox and Croft, traveled to Elk Rapids, Michigan, that same weekend to see the location of the governor’s lakeside property and a nearby bridge, evidence showed. Harris and Caserta have been described as “soldiers” in the scheme.

Another man, Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty, said the goal was to get Whitmer before the fall election and create enough chaos to create a civil war and stop Joe Biden from winning the presidency.

Defense lawyers attacked the government’s investigation and the use of a crucial informant, Dan Chappel. They claimed Chappel was the real leader, taking direction from the FBI and keeping the group on edge while recording them for months.

Croft is from Bear, Delaware, while the others are from Michigan.

Whitmer, a Democrat, rarely talks publicly about the plot, though she referred to “surprises” during her term that seemed like “something out of fiction” when she filed for reelection on March 17.

She has blamed former President Donald Trump for fomenting anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to condemn right-wing extremists like those charged in the case.

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Find AP’s full coverage of the Whitmer kidnap plot trial at: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial

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White reported from Detroit.

John Flesher And Ed White, The Associated Press