ACQUITTED! Two Whitmer Kidnap Defendants Found NOT GUILTY...Judge Declares Mistrial On Other Two Defendants After Defense Lawyers Successfully Argue FBI Entrapped Accused Men
In a case of conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer, two of the four defendants were acquitted of all charges as a mistrial was declared over the other 2 due to the defense’s successful arguing that their clients were victims of entrapment by the FBI
In October of 2020 six men were arrested and charged for conspiracy to kidnap Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Two of the men have since plead guilty, leaving four defendants to stand trial.
Earlier today, it was announced that the jury was in deadlock over some of the charges levied against the four defendants. Just now the verdict was released and the Justice Department got nothing that they wanted, with two of the men–Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta–being fully acquitted, while a mistrial was declared for the other two–Adam Croft and Barry Fox Jr–due to the jury being deadlocked.
Adam Fox’s defense attorney, Christopher Gibbons
Despite Judge Jonker, who oversaw the proceedings, making many rulings during the trial which favored prosecution, the verdict was a near perfect success on behalf of the defense.
From American Greatness:
Defense attorneys had argued—successfully, it would appear—that their clients were entrapped by the FBI; at least a dozen FBI confidential human sources and undercover agents working out of numerous FBI field offices were deeply embedded in the plot.
[Judge] Jonker ruled before the trial began on March 8 that defense counsel could not raise the entrapment issue until the government rested its case, but that plan was quickly scuttled when it became obvious the four defense attorneys were unable effectively to represent their clients without demonstrating the FBI’s extensive involvement. To prove entrapment, the defense had to convince the jury that the government induced the criminal behavior and the defendants lacked predisposition to carry out the kidnapping conspiracy on their own.
Against the objections of prosecutors, Jonker notified the jury last Friday they could consider entrapment.
The defense attorneys did an excellent job arguing as to how wrong the FBI’s entrapment plot was, and, clearly, the jury agreed.
“When I look at what happened in this case, I am ashamed of the behavior of the leading law enforcement agency in the United States,” Joshua Blanchard, Croft’s public defender, said during his closing argument.
Christopher Gibbons, Fox’s public defender, called the government’s conduct “unacceptable in America. That’s not how it works. They don’t make terrorists so we can arrest them.”
With the defendants found to be victims of entrapment, the question now becomes–why?
Whitmer’s popularity was plummeting at the time of the kidnapping conspiracy, due to negligence towards the state and tyrannical lockdowns. Many in Michigan–and the US–are left wondering if the FBI’s kidnap plot was to help frame Whitmer as a victim while her popularity collapsed and she was auditioning for the role of Biden’s VP.