Three men who plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have been sentenced. Pete Musico was given a minimum term of 12 years while his son-in-law Joe Morrison got 10 years. Paul Bellar was given seven years. A victim impact statement from Whitmer was played in court and she says the plot has changed her.
“I now scan crowds for threats,” Whitmer said. “I think carefully about the last thing I say to people when we part. I worry about the safety of everyone near me when I’m in public. I’m reluctant to share too much because I worry that it could endanger a loved one, a staff member, a police officer on my security detail.”
Morrison, Musico and Bellar were not charged with having a direct role in the conspiracy, but they were members of a paramilitary group that trained with Adam Fox, the leader of the scheme. They had forged an early alliance with Fox before the FBI broke up the scheme in 2020. The three were convicted of providing material support for a terrorist act. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer wanted stiff sentences, saying they’d threatened democracy.
