Lawyers: FBI lured men for Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot

By MICHAEL TARM, ED WHITE and SARA BURNETT
Associated Press

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Attorneys for four men charged with planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are telling jurors they were swayed by informants and federal agents who targeted them for their anti-government views. They have portrayed the men as big talkers, wannabes and, in one case, a “misfit” manipulated by an FBI informant. Attorney Joshua Blanchard said Wednesday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that the FBI lined up an informant with a long criminal history to reach out to Barry Croft Jr. and lure him to militia meetings. Four men face trial: Croft, Adam Fox, Brandon Caserta, and Daniel Harris. Prosecutors say the men plotted to snatch Whitmer in 2020 because they were angry about pandemic restrictions and that they went well beyond talking.