AP

Jury picked in 2nd trial in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot

Aug 8, 2022, 6:28 PM | Updated: Aug 9, 2022, 4:43 pm

This combo of images provided by the Kent County, Mich., Jail. shows Barry Croft Jr., left, and Ada...

This combo of images provided by the Kent County, Mich., Jail. shows Barry Croft Jr., left, and Adam Fox. Jury selection started Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in the second trial of the two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 over their disgust with restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors are putting Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. on trial again after a jury in April couldn't reach a verdict. Two co-defendants were acquitted and two more pleaded guilty earlier. (Kent County Sheriff's Office via AP)

(Kent County Sheriff's Office via AP)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — After questions about guns, politics and COVID-19, a jury was selected Tuesday for the second trial of two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over their disgust with restrictions early in the pandemic.

The judge and lawyers settled on 18 people, including six alternates, to hear the case against Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr.

They’re on trial again after a jury in April couldn’t reach a verdict. Two co-defendants were acquitted and two more pleaded guilty earlier.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker repeatedly told prospective jurors that some familiarity with the case wouldn’t mean exclusion.

“It’s not disqualifying to have views one way or the other,” he said. “It’s disqualifying if the views become more important than what the law or the evidence is.”

The plot to kidnap the Democratic governor followed training in Wisconsin and Michigan and two trips to scout her second home in northern Michigan, according to evidence in the first trial.

Fox, 39, lived in the Grand Rapids area and Croft, 46, is from Bear, Delaware. They regularly communicated with other extremists who were angry with Whitmer and various public officials, evidence showed.

Convicting or acquitting the men can’t be influenced by “whether you like Governor Whitmer or dislike Governor Whitmer,” the judge told the jury pool. “It’s not if you think masking mandates or vaccine mandates or any other response was good or bad policy. It’s not a proxy for any of those things.”

Some people were dismissed for health reasons or for political views they couldn’t set aside. One man, whose mother is an elected county clerk, was scratched after he said he has no tolerance for violence linked to politics.

“I don’t think you would want me on the jury,” he told Fox’s lawyer.

The jury will hear secretly recorded conversations and see text messages and social media posts favoring violence. Defense attorneys, however, will hammer away at the credibility of undercover FBI agents and informants who fooled the group into thinking they were allies.

Lawyers for Fox and Croft will argue they were shielded by the First Amendment and entrapped by the government every step of the way.

“Utter nonsense,” Fox’s attorney, Christopher Gibbons, said in spring, referring to a kidnapping plan.

Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were found not guilty at the first trial. Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks earlier pleaded guilty and will testify again against Fox and Croft.

Garbin told jurors at the first trial that the goal was to cause national chaos with a kidnapping close to the election between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump.

Whitmer, who will not be called as a trial witness, disclosed Monday night that she tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time and was experiencing mild symptoms. In a recent interview, she said she believes she was the target of an “assassination plot,” not just a kidnapping.

“No one talks about it that way,” Whitmer told The Washington Post.

___

White reported from Detroit. Cappelletti is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

___

Find AP’s full coverage of the Whitmer kidnap plot trial at: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Jury picked in 2nd trial in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot