95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

3 more on trial in Michigan governor kidnap plot

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attends an event with President Joe Biden in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Wednesday, March 9, 2022, in Washington. Prosecutors in the trial of four men charged with planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are showing jurors profanity-filled messages and social media posts on Thursday, March 10, by two of the men, some months before the FBI got involved in the case.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
/
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on the White House campus, Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar are charged with providing material support for terrorist acts

A scheme to kidnap Michigan’s governor in 2020 will get yet another airing in court. Three men face trial Monday in Jackson County, Michigan, just weeks before voters consider whether to reelect Gretchen Whitmer to a second term.

Fourteen men were arrested in 2020. One of them said the kidnapping might inspire a civil war known as the “boogaloo.” Federal prosecutors focused on six people who were considered to be key players, while Michigan authorities dealt with the rest.

Joe Morrison, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar are charged with providing material support for terrorist acts. They’re accused of forming an alliance with others through their paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen.

Defense lawyers say the three cut ties before the kidnapping plot accelerated in summer 2020.

Related Content