2 acquitted, jury hung on 2 more in Whitmer kidnap plot

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) | Photo: Julia Pickett / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Associated Press
Created: April 08, 2022 01:53 PM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Jurors have acquitted two of four defendants of conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer but couldn't agree on a verdict for two others. The verdicts on the charges against Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were read Friday at the federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Harris and Caserta were acquitted. The jurors could not agree on verdicts for Croft and Fox. Croft is from Delaware and the others are from Michigan.

Defense attorneys portrayed their clients as weekend warriors prone to wild talk, who were often stoned. They said FBI undercover agents and informants tricked the men into agreeing to a conspiracy. Prosecutors entered evidence that the men discussed abducting Whitmer before the FBI sting began.