GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) 鈥� Prosecutors in the trial of with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday played covertly recorded audio for jurors in which one of the men specifically discusses a plan to abduct the Democrat.
In the recording, made by a government informant during a meeting in mid-July 2020 in Wisconsin, Barry Croft Jr. describes the possibility of using explosives to 鈥渞ain down鈥� fire on law enforcement 鈥渨ith a team standing by鈥� to abduct Whitmer.
He adds without providing details that it should be 鈥渁 quick precise grab鈥� of the governor.
In another recording made by the same informant, jurors heard the sound of an explosives test Croft was conducting. He鈥檚 later heard speaking almost giddily about the damage he could cause, saying it would be 鈥渄evastating.鈥�
Prosecutors say the men 鈥� Croft, Adam Fox, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta 鈥� planned to snatch Whitmer from her Michigan vacation home because they were angry about pandemic restrictions she imposed. They also planned to blow up a nearby bridge to slow the police response.
The audio played in the federal courtroom in Grand Rapids, Michigan, marked the first time the jury heard a defendant talking specifically about abducting Whitmer. In other recordings played, Croft and Fox mentioned Whitmer and spoke excitedly about taking action that would terrorize people.
鈥淚鈥檓 gonna hit soon,鈥� Croft is heard saying during what prosecutors say was a crucial June 6, 2020, meeting of antigovernment activists in Ohio. 鈥� . The right people. The people who have been terrorizing my people.鈥�
A little later, Fox also is heard on audio recorded by an FBI informant, tossing out ideas and telling the group: 鈥淵ou need to take hostages. There鈥檚 your value.鈥�
FBI agent Todd Reineck testified earlier Thursday that the men were arrested in fall 2020 because there was a 鈥渞eal concern they might obtain real live explosives.鈥� He also testified about social media posts and messages by the men, including some made months before any contact from FBI agents or informants.
鈥� and tyrants in our state. ... Let鈥檚 do something ... bold,鈥� Fox said in a December 2019 Facebook video. In it, Fox is seen intermittently laughing and cursing the government while waving two AR-style assault rifles at a camera.
Fox鈥檚 attorney, Christopher Gibbons, questioned Reineck about the process of paying informants in cash, vetting them before undercover work, and the choice of electronic devices they used. Reineck also acknowledged under questioning by Gibbons that
During , defense attorneys said the FBI tricked the men into participating in a plot to kidnap Whitmer and U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker allowed them to address an entrapment defense.
Entrapment is a high-risk defense because it鈥檚 a concession that crimes may have been committed.
Croft's lawyer said informants secretly recorded the men when virtually everyone was 鈥渟toned, absolutely out-of-your-mind stoned,鈥� leading to fantastical ideas, including using a kite to transport Whitmer.
鈥淭hey knew it was stoned-crazy talk and not a plan,鈥� Joshua Blanchard said of the FBI.
Harris鈥� attorney, Julia Kelly, said the former Marine liked an FBI informant called 鈥淏ig Dan鈥� because he presented himself as a gun training instructor.
鈥淏ig Dan was the leader,鈥� . 鈥淗ow do I shoot out of a vehicle? Yeah, you go ask Big Dan. That鈥檚 what Daniel was looking for in the summer of 2020.鈥�
Caserta鈥檚 attorney, Michael Hills, said attack training sessions in Michigan and Wisconsin were 鈥淔ed-sponsored events.鈥�
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Roth said evidence would prove the defendants' desire to commit violence regardless of anything the informants did or suggested, telling jurors the men were 鈥渨illing and eager" and preparing for the crime 鈥渓ong before鈥� law enforcement got involved.
鈥淚f the defendant was already willing to commit the crime, that is not entrapment,鈥� Roth said.
He described Fox and Croft as masterminds of the plot, and said the four
In one recording, Croft says Whitmer needs to be 鈥渉ung.鈥� After Croft was arrested in October 2020 on the East Coast as he made deliveries at his job as a truck driver, agents found a receipt for $353-worth of what the FBI agent described as 鈥渕ortar-style fireworks,鈥� which he said could become a makeshift bomb if packed with pennies.
鈥淭hese were not people who were all talk," Roth said. 鈥� .鈥�
Two critical insiders, and , have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and are expected to testify for the government.
In 2020, Whitmer was trading taunts with then-President Donald Trump over his administration鈥檚 response to COVID-19. Her critics, meanwhile, were regularly protesting at the Michigan Capitol, clogging streets around the statehouse and legally carrying semi-automatic rifles into the building.
Whitmer, who is seeking reelection this year, rarely talks publicly about the case and isn鈥檛 expected to attend the trial. She Trump for stoking mistrust and fomenting anger over coronavirus restrictions and refusing to condemn hate groups and right-wing extremists like those charged in the plot. She has said he was also complicit in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.
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White reported from Detroit and Burnett reported from Chicago. Reporter John Flesher contributed from Traverse City, Michigan.
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Find AP鈥檚 full coverage of the Whitmer kidnap plot trial at:
Michael Tarm, Ed White And Sara Burnett, The Associated Press
