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The co-leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for conspiring to abduct the Democrat and blow up a bridge to ease an escape.
Adam Fox returned to federal court four months after he and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted of conspiracy charges at a second trial in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
They were accused of being at the helm of a wild plot to whip up anti-government extremists just before the 2020 presidential election. Their arrest, as well as the capture of 12 others, was a stunning coda to a tumultuous year of racial strife and political turmoil in the U.S.
The government had pushed for a life sentence, saying Croft offered bomb-making skills and ideology while Fox was the « driving force urging their recruits to take up arms, kidnap the governor and kill those who stood in their way. »
But Judge Robert J. Jonker said that while Fox’s sentence was needed as a punishment and deterrent to future similar acts, the government’s request for life in prison is « not necessary to achieve those purposes. »
« It’s too much. Something less than life gets the job done in this case, » Jonker said, later adding that 16 years in prison « is still in my mind a very long time. »
Jonker said he also considered the emotional baggage Whitmer will have to carry due to the plot.
« It undoubtedly affects other people who are in public office or are considering public office. They have to count the cost. That does need a forceful sentence from the court.
