A jury acquitted three men Friday in the final trial related to a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a scheme described as an example of domestic violence on the eve of the 2020 presidential election.
William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor were found not guilty of providing support for terrorist acts and weapons charges. They are the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court. Nine have been convicted and now five have been acquitted.
The Nulls and Molitor are accused of supporting the show’s leaders by participating in military-style training and traveling to see Whitmer’s vacation home in northern Michigan. The main players, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of kidnapping conspiracy last year in different courts.
There was silence in the courtroom Friday morning as the jury foreman announced the not guilty verdict, first for the brothers and then for Molitor. The deliberations began Thursday morning and continued for several hours on Friday.
The men wept as they hugged their lawyers and supporters.
“You gentlemen are free to go,” said Judge Charles Hamlyn.
Authorities say the attacks on Whitmer came to a head at a regional summit of anti-government extremists in Dublin, Ohio, in the summer of 2020. Fox, Croft and William Null were in attendance while an FBI informant was also at the gathering secretly taping obscenities. a long list of threats of violence against public officials.
3 men connected to the kidnapping plot of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have been cleared. Reuters
The disgust was also fueled by government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recordings, text messages and social media posts introduced as evidence in the trial.
Whitmer’s chief of staff, JoAnne Huls, said the decision was disappointing and would “further encourage and embolden radical extremists who seek to sow discord and endanger public officials or law enforcement.”
State Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office handled the trial, said “the verdict was not what we expected.”
Michael Null was found not guilty in the kidnapping plot. AP
William Null, pictured, Michael’s twin brother, was also released. AP
Eric Molitor, pictured, with Nulls accused of supporting the kidnapping plot by participating in military-style training. AP
Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, testified in their own defense, admitting they had attended firearms training and had gone in a car to check on Whitmer’s property. But William Null said he and his brother split up when the discussion turned to getting explosives. Molitor said Fox was “very stupid” and would not have carried out the kidnapping.
During closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutor William Rollstin urged jurors not to be swayed.
“If you assist in whole or in part you have satisfied an element” of the crime, he said. “Did he help her plan? Did he help her prepare? The answer is absolute.”
Michael Null, 41, did not testify and his lawyer took the unusual step of refusing to question any witnesses during the trial. Tom Siver says Michael Null did nothing wrong.
Informants and undercover FBI agents were in the group for months before the arrest was made in October 2020. Whitmer was not physically harmed.
Nine men were previously convicted in state or federal court, either by guilty plea or at three other trials. Shawn Fix and Brian Higgins pleaded guilty in Antrim County and have agreed to cooperate but were never called as prosecution witnesses at the final hearing.
After the plot was foiled, Whitmer blamed then-President Donald Trump, saying he had given “comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.” Outside office, Trump called the abduction plan a “fake deal” in 2022.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
