The FBI ‘Invented Conspiracy’ To Kidnap Gretchen Whitmer Motion Claims

Lawyers representing the five men who have been charged with a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer are asking a judge to dismiss all charges by claiming that the FBI fabricated the entire plan in an attempt to trap them in a conspiracy.

Daily Mail reported that Barry Croff, 44, Adam Fox, 40, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, 23, and Brandon Caserta were all arrested in October of last year for allegedly planning to kidnap Whitmer because they were upset by her COVID-19 restrictions. The federal complaint alleges that the men planned to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home and hide her away in an undisclosed location.

“The government initiated this case, despite the fact that it knew there was no plan to kidnap, no operational plan, and no details about how a kidnapping would occur or what would happen afterward,” defense lawyer Scott Graham wrote in his motion, which is 20 pages long.

The motion went on to claim that were it not for an FBI informant embedded within the group, known as “Dan,” who encouraged the plot and pledged to fund it through a charity organization, the men never would have hatched the plan on their own. Though the men discussed the plot in secret meetings and via text messages, with the FBI claiming that they trained for it, their lawyers allege that they had such little money that they would not even be able to travel to Whitmer’s home to carry it out.

“The evidence here demonstrates egregious overreaching by the government’s agents, and by the informants, those agents handled,” the motion stated. “When the government was faced with evidence showing that the defendants had no interest in a kidnapping plot, it refused to accept failure and continued to push its plan.”

The defense lawyers argued that “Dan” egged the men to move forward with the plan to kidnap Whitmer.

“Dan, while often claiming poverty, always had the resources to drive, feed, and house others whom he hoped to pull into the government plan,” the motion read.

“Dan” reportedly drove the defendants to militia-style training weekends in Wisconsin and Michigan, paying for their gas, tolls, meals, and lodging.

“So while the defendants had no interest in profit, a factor weighing in their favor here,” the motion to dismiss continued. “The government’s exploitation of its virtually unlimited resources, poured into its investigation, further underscores entrapment as a matter of law.”

The lawyers claim that “Dan” made $50,000 for working with the government to turn in these men.

Prosecutors, however, disagree with the motion and say they will be moving forward with the case.

“[The]Defendants were predisposed to join the kidnapping and explosive conspiracies, and therefore will not be able to prove entrapment,” said Assistant US Attorney Nils Kessler.

Whitmer herself has yet to comment on this motion.

This piece was written by James Samson on December 27, 2021. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.

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