Barry Croft Jr., a trucker from Delaware, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
This sentence comes one day after the co-leader of the conspiracy Adam Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Fox had been recommended for a life sentence. Croft and Fox were convicted of conspiracy charges in August at a second Grand Rapids trial. They were the fourth and final federal defendants to learn their fate.
A group of individuals have been accused of a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer prior to the 2020 presidential election. Reportedly, the conspirators were enraged by the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Whitmer and other state officials, as well as their stance on gun ownership.
Luckily, the FBI had infiltrated the group and apprehended the 14 suspects before any physical harm could be done to the Governor.
Croft, donning a tri-cornered hat typical of the American Revolution, travelled to Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan to meet with other radical activists. Demonstrating his defiance, he had tattoos on his arms that read “Expect Us”.
“Although he may not have had hierarchical control over all the other participants, he coordinated and pushed the implementation of the conspiracy from its inception to its final stages,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said in a court filing.
“The only remaining step was for the governor to appear at her cottage so they could launch their plan, but fortunately, she was still beyond their control,” the prosecutor said.
After a second trial, a jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan found 39-year-old Fox and 47-year-old Croft guilty of two counts of conspiracy. Additionally, Croft was convicted of possessing an unregistered explosive. At the first trial last spring, a different jury was unable to reach a verdict on the pair but acquitted two other men.
“The abduction of the governor was only meant to be the beginning of Croft’s reign of terror,” Kessler said. “He called for riots, ‘torching’ government officials in their sleep and setting off a ‘domino’ effect of violence across the country.”
New evidence suggests that Ty Garbin, Adam Fox, and others travelled to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s vacation home in northern Michigan with undercover agents and informants.
During the trip, Croft allegedly said, “I don’t like seeing anybody get killed either. But you don’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you know what I mean?”
In a court filing, Croft’s attorney, Joshua Blanchard, tried to downplay his client’s role in the incident, noting that Croft “just kept talking” and lacked any real authority. Blanchard also claimed that Croft was smoking 2 ounces of marijuana per week.