By David K. Li -
NBC News
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced one of the men who planned to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to 16 years in prison.
The judge opposed the prosecution's request for life imprisonment.
Adam Fox, 39, was found guilty in August of conspiring to commit a kidnapping and use a weapon of mass destruction to attack Gov. Whitmer, who in 2020 sparked outrage among far-right groups over her moves to curb the spread of the virus. COVID-19.
In April, jurors failed to reach a verdict against Fox and Barry Croft, another man charged in the case, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.
A second trial was then held, which is now coming to an end.
Federal judge Robert Jonker questioned whether Fox was the "natural leader" of the plot, and therefore avoided giving him a life sentence.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks to reporters after a campaign rally in Warren, Michigan on November 3, 2022. Brandon Bell / Getty Images file
“I don't think life in prison is necessary to deter the public” from committing crimes like this
, Jonker said in Grand Rapids, explaining the 192-month sentence.
“You have to gauge, as judges, the overall seriousness of the crimes and the overall seriousness of the defendant's history,” the judge said.
"I don't see anything in the file ... nothing to make me think (Fox) is a natural leader and nothing to make me think he's the type of person anyone involved in this group was going to follow."
[The plan to kidnap the Michigan governor was intended to prevent Joe Biden from winning the presidency]
Prosecutor Nils Kessler had claimed that Fox wanted to unleash an all-out war in Michigan by kidnapping the governor and that he should be jailed for life.
They exhibit military training of the group that would kidnap the governor of Michigan
Oct 19, 202002:24
“They wanted a second Civil War or a revolution,” Kessler said in court Tuesday.
And he claimed that Fox will still be a dangerous man when he walks free.
“The problem is that this defendant is going to go to jail and will probably come out more radicalized than when he went in, and he will continue to be a danger to the public,” the prosecutor told the judge.
The plot to kidnap the governor was hatched in response to Whitmer's actions during the start of the pandemic in 2020, when he ordered lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Far-right groups lashed out at Whitmer, and then-President Donald Trump appeared to endorse opposition groups on Twitter.
[Trump was the “main cause” of the assault on the Capitol, concludes a report published by the committee that investigated the attack]
Fox declined the opportunity to address the court: "I am satisfied with what my lawyer has said."
Barry Croft, the other man charged with the attempted kidnapping, is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday.
