Men sentenced to prison for supporting plot to kidnap Michigan governor

A judge on Thursday handed down the longest prison terms so far in the plot to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan, 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 direct roles in the conspiracy but were members of a paramilitary group that trained with Adam Fox, who separately faces a possible life sentence on 27 December.

The trio were convicted in October of providing material support for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum term of 20 years, and two other crimes.

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 parole after serving those terms.

The judge, Thomas Wilson, presided over the first batch of convictions in state court, following the high-profile conspiracy convictions of four others in federal court.

A person convicted of more than one crime in Michigan typically gets prison sentences that run at the same time. But Wilson took the unusual step of ordering consecutive sentences for Musico and Morrison, making their minimum stays longer.

In addition to being convicted of supporting terrorism, the three men were each convicted of a gun crime and of being a member in a gang.

Musico, 45, Morrison, 28, and Bellar, 24, were members of the Wolverine Watchmen. The three held gun training with Fox in rural Jackson county and shared his disgust for Whitmer, police and public officials, especially after Covid-19 restrictions disrupted the economy and triggered armed Capitol protests and anti-government belligerence.

A jury quickly returned guilty verdicts in October after nine days of testimony, mostly evidence offered by a pivotal FBI informant, Dan Chappel, and federal agents.

Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris were acquitted by a jury.