Defense delivers closing remarks in Whitmer kidnap trial, jury to deliberate

The fate of three men accused of plotting to help kidnap the governor now rests in the hands of jurors, who are set to begin deliberations Tuesday.

After weeks of crafting a defense for Pete Musico, Paul Bellar, and Joseph Morrison, attorneys delivered their final words before the jury in court Monday. In closing, the defense stuck to its initial sentiments that these men were talking the talk, with no means or intention to walk the walk.

The three men are charged with providing material support for terrorism, a felony punishable by up to 20 years. Their participation, prosecutors said, was part of a larger scheme crafted by a militia group, the Wolverine Watchmen, to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home. The plot was broken up by the FBI in 2020.

The two men leading the plot to kidnap Whitmer — Adam Fox and Barry Croft — were convicted in federal court in August and face up to life in prison.

In court on Monday, prosecutors summarized the state’s case against the defendants, pointing to the fact that each of the three men provided material knowing that it would be used to plan or prepare for an act of terrorism. Bellar provided medical training, Morrison gave advice, both Musico and Morrison provided facilities, and all three men provided personnel members for the militia group, Assistant Attorney General Sunita Doddamani argued Monday.

“They were all in the same book, they just had to get on the same page,” Doddamani said, referring to a phone call conversation between Morrison and Fox. “And what’s that book about? That book is about a boogaloo civil war. And a spark started.”

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Prosecution outlined the men’s interactions with law enforcement and ill feelings toward the government before joining forces, bonding over a resentment toward authority who they felt was encroaching on their rights and a need to prepare to take action when the time came.

In their closing statements, defense attorneys downplayed the men’s involvement, emphasizing a federal informant’s role in influencing the group’s actions, and that they were Americans simply defending and acting within their rights.

“(Musico’s) plan was to get arrest warrants and arrest politicians for violating the Constitution, that was his plan,” said attorney Kareem Johnson, Musico’s attorney. “That plan, as unrealistic as it may be, is lawful.”

At one point during Johnson’s closing statement, he compares an April protest at the state Capitol planned by the Wolverine Watchmen to senior skip day in high school to illustrate that Musico was among those who did what they were instructed to do by the group’s leaders.

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Morrison’s attorney, Leonard Ballard, also pointed to his client’s powerlessness, saying Morrison was partaking in LARP — live-action role-playing — a role-playing activity in which participants dress the part of fictional characters complete with costumes and props. Ballard argues that while Morrison provided facilities for training, he did not have any knowledge of the details of what was happening on his property.

“(Fox) came and took, Morrison, didn’t provide anybody, he had no ability, no authority to order people around,” Ballard said.

Andrew Kirkpatrick, the attorney for Bellar, who is accused of providing medical training to members of the Wolverine Watchmen, argued that the training doesn’t fall within the definition of providing material and the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof.

“This should be common sense to everyone in here that material means exactly what it says: material,” Kirkpatrick said. “There's got to be some materiality to it. There isn't here. There's nothing. There's no showing whatsoever that anything he provided was material.”

After a nearly eight-hour session in court Monday, the jury was sent home. On Tuesday, state attorneys general are set to deliver their rebuttal closing statements before the jury can begin its deliberation process.

Contact Miriam Marini: mmarini@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Defense wraps up closing arguments in Whitmer plot trial