PETE MUSICO

Joseph Morrison, Paul Bellar and Pete Musico were convicted in October of providing material support for terrorist acts, possession of a firearm while committing a felony and being members of a gang.

Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison, followed by his son-in-law Morrison at 10 years and Bellar at seven. They will be eligible for release after serving those terms, but any decision rests solely with the Michigan parole board. Musico, Morrison and Bellar belonged to the Wolverine Watchmen. That was the reason I joined the Wolverine Watchmen in the first place." “The Wolverine Watchmen misappropriated the word ‘patriot’ all the time for a really unpatriotic objective, you know, killing fellow Americans.

Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison, followed by Morrison at 10 years and Bellar at seven. Bellar is clueless about any plot to kidnap the governor,” attorney Andrew Kirkpatrick said again in a court filing last week. Separately, in federal court in Grand Rapids, Fox and Croft face possible life sentences in two weeks. Two men who pleaded guilty received substantial breaks: Ty Garbin is free after a 2 1/2-year prison term while Kaleb Franks was given a four-year sentence. When the plot was foiled, Whitmer blamed then-President Donald Trump, saying he had given "comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division."

A judge has handed down the longest prison terms so far in the plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

A judge on Thursday handed down the longest prison terms so far in the plot to kidnap Michigan's governor, sentencing three men who forged an early alliance with a leader of the scheme before the FBI broke it up in 2020. Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were not charged with having a direct role in the conspiracy but were members of a paramilitary group that trained with Adam Fox, who separately faces a possible life sentence on Dec. 27 for his federal conviction. Musico was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison, followed by his son-in-law Morrison at 10 years and Bellar at seven.

A federal judge has denied a new trial request by two men convicted of conspiring to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing "material support" for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen.

Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing "material support" for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group.

Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. They held gun drills in rural Jackson County with a leader of the scheme, Adam Fox, who was disgusted with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other officials in 2020 and said he wanted to kidnap her. Prosecutors said COVID-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen. Defense attorneys argued that the three men had broken ties with Fox by late summer 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus.

Three men have been convicted of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

Three men accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor were convicted of all charges Wednesday, a triumph for state prosecutors after months of mixed results in the main case in federal court. Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing “material support” for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen. Prosecutors said COVID-19 restrictions ordered by Whitmer turned out to be fruit to recruit more people to the Watchmen.

Jurors have begun deliberations in a third trial connected to a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The main charge is providing material support for a terrorist act, especially gun drills and ambush training with Fox at a rural property controlled by Morrison. He joined Morrison's paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen, but was alarmed to hear about attacking police. “The Wolverine Watchmen taught (Fox) how to attract, organize and train a group of operators,” Doddamani said. Defense lawyers say the three men stopped associating with Fox by late summer when the kidnapping plot was accelerating. Bellar had moved to South Carolina by the end of July 2020, two months before the FBI broke up the plot with 14 arrests.

Prosecutors are urging a jury to convict three men for assisting the leaders of a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers rested their case Friday in the trial of three men charged with assisting the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Morrison, Musico and Bellar chose not to testify. Defense attorneys briefly called a state police officer and recalled an FBI agent before resting their side of the case. Defense lawyers say Morrison, Musico and Bellar stopped associating with Fox by late summer when the kidnapping plot was accelerating. Bellar had moved to South Carolina by the end of July 2020, two months before the FBI broke up the plot with 14 arrests.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday in the trial of three men charged with assisting the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. The trio is not accused of having a direct role in the Whitmer kidnapping scheme, which included a night ride to northern Michigan to scout her vacation home. The main charge is providing material support for a terrorist act, especially gun drills and ambush training with Fox in Jackson County. Defense lawyers say Morrison, Musico and Bellar stopped associating with Fox by late summer when the kidnapping plot was accelerating. Whitmer was never physically harmed: Undercover agents and informants were embedded in the group for months.

Prosecutors have rested their case in the trial of three men charged with assisting a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

A judge has dismissed a young woman from the jury hearing the trial of three men in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after attorneys accused her of flirting with one of the defendants.

A defense lawyer lashed out at a star witness in a trial related to a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Prosecutors are raising concerns about a female juror who apparently has been smiling at one of three men on trial in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Gretchen Whitmer. "I like how you guys roll, man," Fox said at the Vac Shack, according to the audio recorded by an FBI informant. Bellar was at the June 2020 meeting, along with fellow militia member Ty Garbin, who eventually pleaded guilty in federal court. The next day, Bellar told fellow Watchmen that he liked Fox: “The guy's definitely got the spirit for this," according to chat messages. He said Musico invited Fox to gun drills at a rural property in Jackson County.

Jurors in Michigan heard secretly recorded audio as prosecutors tried to show how a paramilitary group was connected to a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The second man to plead guilty in a kidnapping plot against Michigan’s governor has been sentenced to four years in prison.

An FBI agent has testified that postings in online chatrooms by members of a paramilitary group connected to a 2020 anti-government plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer included instructions on how to make explosives.

A jury has been seated in the trial of three men charged in connection with a 2020 anti-government plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Jury selection is underway in a third trial connected to a 2020 anti-government plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The government said it broke up a plot to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat, from her vacation home in northern Michigan. Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks pleaded guilty in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and testified against four others. Lawyers for Morrison, Musico and Bellar say the men cut ties with Fox before the kidnapping plot accelerated in summer 2020; Bellar had moved to South Carolina. TRIAL AND POLITICS:The kidnapping plot hadn't been mentioned much in Michigan's gubernatorial race until Republican candidate Tudor Dixon seemed to make light of it during a Sept. 23 campaign appearance. The Whitmer campaign said threats of violence were "no laughing matter.”___Find the AP's full coverage of the kidnapping plot cases: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial.

The government said it broke up a plot to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat, from her vacation home in northern Michigan. Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks pleaded guilty in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and testified against four others. Lawyers for Morrison, Musico and Bellar say the men cut ties with Fox before the kidnapping plot accelerated in summer 2020; Bellar had moved to South Carolina. TRIAL AND POLITICS:The kidnapping plot hadn't been mentioned much in Michigan's gubernatorial race until Republican candidate Tudor Dixon seemed to make light of it during a Sept. 23 campaign appearance. The Whitmer campaign said threats of violence were "no laughing matter.”___Find the AP's full coverage of the kidnapping plot cases: https://apnews.com/hub/whitmer-kidnap-plot-trial.

A scheme to kidnap Michigan’s governor in 2020 will get yet another airing in court.

A jury last week couldn't reach a unanimous verdict for two men charged with a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

A Michigan judge on Monday, March 29, 2021 ordered three men to stand trial in a plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Jackson County District Court Judge Michael Klaeren ruled there was enough evidence and bound over Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico to circuit court to stand trial. (Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center via AP)A Michigan judge on Monday ordered three men to stand trial in a plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Jackson County District Court Judge Michael Klaeren ruled there was enough evidence and bound over Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico to circuit court to stand trial. AdThe FBI in October said it broke up a plot to kidnap Whitmer by anti-government extremists upset over her coronavirus restrictions.