GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The co-leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for conspiring to kidnap the Democrat and blow up a bridge to facilitate escape.
Adam Fox’s sentence is the longest of those convicted in the plot so far, although it is significantly shorter than the life sentence prosecutors were seeking.
Fox, 39, returned to federal court four months after he and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted on conspiracy charges in a second trial in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
They were accused of organizing a far-fetched plot to incite anti-government extremists just before the 2020 presidential election. Their arrest, as well as the capture of 12 others, was a stunning caption to a tumultuous year of racial strife and political turmoil in The USA.
The government said Croft offered bomb-making skills and ideology, while Fox was the “driving force urging his recruits to take up arms, kidnap the governor and kill those who got in their way.”
But Judge Robert J. Jonker said that while Fox’s sentence was necessary as punishment and a deterrent to future similar acts, the government’s request for life in prison “is not necessary to accomplish those purposes.”
“It’s too much. Anything less than life does the job in this case,” Jonker said, later adding that 16 years behind bars “is still on my mind for like a long time.”
Jonker said he also considered the emotional baggage Whitmer has to carry because of the plot.
“It certainly affects other people who are in public office or considering public office,” he said. “They have to calculate the cost. That needs a strong sentence from the court.”
In addition to the prison sentence, Fox must serve five years of supervised release. He will also get credit for more than two years in custody since his arrest.
“Responding to domestic terrorism plots has been a priority for the Department of Justice since its founding, and we will continue to spare no expense to make sure we disrupt plots like these,” US Attorney Andrew Birge told reporters outside the courthouse after the incident. judgment
Fox wore orange prison clothes with long, slicked-back hair and a bushy beard. He showed little reaction when the sentence was read.
Daniel Harris, who was acquitted by a jury earlier this year for his part in the plot, sat next to Fox’s mother on the verandah and hugged her after the sentence was read. Fox looked at the gallery several times, often uttering words.
He shook his head and smiled repeatedly as Assistant US Attorney Nils Kessler spoke. Kessler said Fox’s smirk was a sign that he was showing no regrets.
