2 Whitmer Plot Verdicts Tossed

A Michigan appeals court on Monday set aside convictions for two men involved in a 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were convicted of providing material support for an act of terrorism after being accused, along with co-defendant Joe Morrison, of having secondary roles in the scheme. Morrison's conviction was thrown out in June in a precedent-setting decision. A different panel at the Michigan Court of Appeals said it was obligated to apply that ruling to Musico and Bellar as well, the AP reports.

The convictions were overturned on technical grounds. The appeals court said kidnapping is not an underlying violent felony that can support a conviction under Michigan's terrorism law. Attorney General Dana Nessel called that "linguistic gymnastics" and said she would ask the Michigan Supreme Court to take up the cases. Morrison, Musico, and Bellar were not charged with having a direct role in the kidnapping plot. But they had been members of a paramilitary group that earlier trained with Adam Fox, who was prosecuted in federal court as a leader and is serving a 16-year prison sentence for conspiracy. The overall investigation produced mixed results for state and federal prosecutors. Five of the 14 men were acquitted at trial.