Three Men Sentenced to Prison for Connection to Michigan Governor Kidnapping Plot

The men were convicted in October of providing material support for the kidnapping attempt

(L–R) Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison, and Pete Musico are shown in undated booking photos. Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and Jackson County Sheriff's Office via AP

Paul Bellar, Joseph Morrison, and Pete Musico were sentenced Thursday for their involvement in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The three men were convicted of providing material support for the kidnapping attempt in October.

The trio were all members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia group. They were among seven other men charged by Michigan’s attorney general for allegedly helping to plan the overthrow of the state government. The plot was partially in response to Whitmer’s implementation of statewide lockdowns meant to counter the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bellar, 24, received a minimum sentence of seven years in prison, with concurrent sentences of five to 20 years for gang membership and four to 20 years for supporting terrorist acts, as well as a consecutive sentence of two years for a firearms charge.

Morrison, 28, was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison, including two consecutive sentences of four to 20 years for gang membership and supporting terrorist acts, along with another two years for the firearms violation. Musico, 45, received a sentence of 12 years in prison.

The trial was one in a series of cases that grew out of a domestic terrorism investigation into the kidnapping plot. Federal prosecutors have so far delivered mixed results, with some convictions and other acquittals.

The defendants held gun drills in rural Jackson Country with Adam Fox (one of the men who planned the kidnapping scheme) and Barry Croft Jr., both of whom were convicted in September. Defense attorneys argued that Bellar, Morrison, and Musico had broken ties with Fox in the summer of 2020 when the Whitmer plot came into focus.

Unlike Fox and the others, the three did not travel to northern Michigan to scout the governor’s vacation home or participate in a key weekend training session.

“In this country you are allowed to talk the talk, but you only get convicted if you walk the walk,” said Musico’s attorney Kareem Johnson in his closing remarks.

Judge Rejects Entrapment Claims

Concerns of entrapment emerged when it was found that state and federal law enforcement relied on undercover agents and informants in derailing the scheme. Several defendants were acquitted by a jury. However, Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson, who oversaw the domestic terrorism trial, rejected these arguments.

“I just cannot, in reviewing this matter, [see] that the government ... somehow pressured any one of these individuals to participate in anything, or to get in line with this way of thinking,” Wilson said in reference to the ideology espoused by the Wolverine Watchmen.

During the sentencing, Whitmer provided a short video that served as the victim impact statement. The governor took the opportunity to denounce and warn against what she saw as a rising tide of political extremism.

“Like all Michiganders, these three defendants are free to disagree, vote, or campaign against me,” Whitmer said. “Instead, they took a different path. They supported a violent conspiracy and provided material support for terrorism. They chose actions that are antithetical to what makes our nation strong and safe.”

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.