GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CN) — A trial against four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer began in earnest Wednesday with opening statements and could shine a revealing light on violent extremism in the country.
The defendants are Adam Fox, 40, of Wyoming, Michigan; Barry Croft Jr., 45, of Bear, Delaware; Daniel Joseph Harris, 23, of Lake Orion, Michigan; and Brandon Caserta, 32, of Canton Township, Michigan.
In his opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Roth accused the men of a terrifying plan to kidnap the Democratic governor so they could “hogtie her and take her away.”
Roth said federal agents intervened when it was learned the plan included blowing up a bridge.
“Actions were louder and more disturbing than words,” he said.
The prosecutor detailed the group’s frustration over Covid-19 restrictions implemented by Whitmer but also said the anger was already there and simmering against politicians in general. He said the influence of the Boogaloo militia movement, in which Croft was recognized as national figure, was intertwined into the plot against Whitmer.
Roth made sure to point out that Croft changed his appearance for the trial and said that even though now he looks like a “middle school math teacher,” he was still capable of illegal acts.
“I’m going to burn motherfucker’s houses down,” Croft allegedly said in a statement captured by investigators. “I’m going to do some of the most nasty disgusting things that you have ever read about in the history of your life.”
Roth also said that Harris and Caserta were bloodthirsty and content to just kill the governor. Castera allegedly talked about crushing her skull.
Fox was able to convince the others that kidnapping the governor was the best plan, according to the prosecution. Fox knew what he was doing was wrong because he performed security checks for new group members and used codewords such as “cupcake” to describe bombs, Roth said.
In the fall of 2020, Roth claims the group engaged in intense training and built a model of Whitmer’s home so they could practice a siege.
Roth closed by asking the jury to set aside their views on government and think of the human element.
“What you have is defendants agreed to…break into a woman’s home where she slept with her family in the middle of the night…they would tie her up and take her from that home,” he said.
Christopher Gibbons of Gibbons & Boer, representing Fox, accused the federal government of going to great lengths to make his client look “nefarious.”
“There was no plan. There was no conspiracy,” he said.
Gibbons said the case was heavily reliant on a secret informant, who "is the backbone of the case. He is the framework which everything hangs on this case."
Julia Kelly of Willey & Chamberlain, representing Harris, said the 23-year-old was active on social media like many his age and he liked shooting guns and drinking beer.
“He’s not perfect, but he’s not guilty of what the government is accusing him of,” she said.






