A Delaware trucker described as a co-leader of the conspiracy to kidnap Michigan's governor has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison.
They were accused of running a stunning plot to abduct Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home just before the 2020 presidential election. The conspirators were furious over tough COVID-19 restrictions that Whitmer and officials in other states had put in place during the early months of the pandemic, as well as perceived threats to gun ownership.
"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. "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."
Croft's attorney tried to soften his client's role. In a court filing, Joshua Blanchard said the Bear, Delaware, man didn't actually have authority over others and often frustrated them because he "just kept talking.""Simply put, to the extent that the jury determined he was a participant, as they necessarily did, he was a participant to a lesser degree than others," Blanchard insisted.
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