Defendants in Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor Sentenced
Three defendants in a kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were sentences to several years in federal prison this week. The three defendants–Adam Fox, Ty Garbin, and Barry Croft–all took part in a plot to kidnap the Governor, use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property, and knowingly possess an unregistered destructive device.
According to a Department of Justice release, Fox and Croft intended to kidnap Governor Whitmer from her vacation cottage near Elk Rapids, Michigan. The duo planned to use various weapons to harm the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers. Fox and Croft specifically explored placing a bomb under an interstate overpass near a pedestrian boardwalk to hinder any law enforcement response.
After an 11-day trial in August, both Fox and Croft were convicted of conspiracy to kidnap the Governor of Michigan and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property. Croft received an additional charge for possessing an improvised explosive device, which was a commercial firework refashioned with shrapnel to serve as a hand-grenade.
Garbin was pleaded guilty outside a trial and received a lighter sentence after agreeing to cooperate against Fox and Croft. He initially received a sentence of 75 months, or over six years, in prison. But the district court reduced to a term of 30 months, or two and a half years in prison, based on Garbin’s cooperation.
Fox was ultimately sentenced to 16 years in prison. The following day, Croft was sentenced to over 19 years in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.
“Mr. Fox, and his confederate Mr. Croft, were convicted by a jury of masterminding a plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan and to use weapons of mass destruction against responding law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today’s sentence reflects the Department of Justice’s unwavering commitment to protecting our elected officials, law enforcement officers, and dedicated public servants from criminal threats and violence — and to holding the perpetrators of such acts fully accountable under the law.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigations Detroit Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including Michigan State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).