Two men accused of coming up with a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 are facing a second trial this week.
It comes months after a jury couldn’t reach a verdict on Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. while acquitting two others. The result in April was a blow to federal prosecutors. They had set out to show that extremists were committed to snatching Whitmer and causing chaos close to the election between Joe Biden and then-President Donald Trump.
The trial means another public airing of secretly recorded conversations, text messages and chilling social media posts. Defense attorneys will argue that Fox and Croft were shielded by the First Amendment when they expressed malicious opinions and were entrapped every step of the way by agents.
Jury selection starts Tuesday.
