In outcome of Whitmer case, some see freedom, others danger

By SARA BURNETT
Associated Press

That a jury didn’t convict any of the four men charged with planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is further evidence of the political polarization in the U.S. A defense lawyer for one of the men says it shows freedom still exists, and that the men’s actions were nothing more than “rough talk.” But to others, Friday’s outcome following a weekslong trial was a chilling example of the kind of political violence that is raging across the country, too often unpunished. They say people are increasingly angry, and they feel emboldened to act on it. Two men were acquitted for their role in the alleged 2020 plot, while the jury couldn’t agree on charges against two other men. They may be retried.