The trial of three men connected to the plot to kidnap and potentially execute Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer began in Jackson with jury selection Monday and plans for a Livingston County man to again testify for the prosecution.
Joe Morrison, Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar are all accused of being member of the paramilitary group known as the Wolverine Watchman. Prosecutors say they provided material support for the scheme to kidnap Whitmer from her northern Michigan vacation home and then place her on trial for her actions to control the spread of COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic.
After a first trial in which two defendants were acquitted, a second trial convicted two others on federal charges in the plot. Meanwhile, two others have pleaded guilty for their roles. Among them is Ty Garbin of Hartland Township, whose sentence was reduced for his cooperation in testifying against his co-defendants.
Morrison, Musico and Bellar claim they were entrapped by an undercover informant and his FBI handlers, the same defense used in the previous trials.
