A Michigan appeals court has vacated the convictions of two men, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar, who were involved in a 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The court's decision, released Monday, cited a precedent-setting ruling from June that had similarly overturned the conviction of co-defendant Joe Morrison.
The appellate court determined that kidnapping is not an underlying violent felony that can sustain a conviction under Michigan's terrorism statute. This technicality led to the dismissal of charges against Musico and Bellar, who were convicted of providing material support for an act of terrorism. Morrison's conviction was similarly vacated in June by a different panel of the same court.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the ruling, characterizing it as "linguistic gymnastics" and announcing her intention to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to review the cases.
Prosecutors had accused Morrison, Musico, and Bellar of playing secondary roles in the kidnapping scheme. Neither Bellar, who had moved out of state before the FBI's arrests in October 2020, nor Morrison and Musico, who stated they were no longer in contact with key figures, were charged with direct involvement in the plot. However, all three were members of a paramilitary group that had trained with Adam Fox, who is serving a 16-year federal prison sentence for his role as a leader in the conspiracy.
The plot, which aimed to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home shortly before the 2020 presidential election, was reportedly fueled by anger over the governor's COVID-19 restrictions and perceived threats to gun ownership. Whitmer, a Democrat, was not physically harmed. The scheme was disrupted by undercover FBI agents and informants who had infiltrated Fox's group.
The broader investigation into the plot resulted in mixed outcomes for prosecutors, with five of the 14 men initially charged being acquitted in their trials.