Whitmer kidnap plot ringleaders Barry Croft, Adam Fox lose appeals court fight

Robert Snell, The Detroit News on Apr 1, 2025

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A federal appeals court panel Tuesday affirmed the convictions of the ringleaders of a plot to kidnap and harm Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, calling the crime a "textbook conspiracy."

The panel of three judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, issued the opinion in the cases of Barry Croft and Adam Fox more than two years after the men received lengthy federal prison sentences for heading a plot to kidnap Whitmer after becoming angered over her pandemic restrictions. Croft was sentenced to 19.6 years in prison and five years of supervised release while Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison and five years' supervision.

The opinion by Judges Joan Larsen, Chad Readler — both of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump — and Stephanie Dawkins Davis, a former federal judge in Detroit appointed by former President Joe Biden, affirmed the convictions on all counts.

The opinion marked a rejection of defense arguments that the kidnap plot ringleaders were entrapped by a team of undercover FBI agents and informants. The judges noted how Fox proposed kidnapping Whitmer and “proposed, planned, and participated in both reconnaissance trips to Governor Whitmer’s home.”

“Those are hardly the actions of a reluctant innocent who has unwarily been hoodwinked into criminal behavior by a government agent,” the judges wrote.

“Regarding the suggestion of criminal activity, there is insufficient evidence in the record to establish that the government planted the idea of kidnapping and harming governors, including Governor Whitmer, or the use of bombs,” they added.

Fox, 41, of Potterville, and Croft, 49, of Delaware, argued there was insufficient evidence to convict them and that U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker erred by limiting the scope of the admissibility of government informant statements, limiting the defense teams' time to cross examine a co-conspirator and refusing to hold a hearing to investigate an allegedly biased juror.

"Between defendants’ extremist group affiliations, threatening social media posts, and numerous self-incriminating private communications, it is evident that defendants were ready and willing to commit these crimes long before being introduced to any government informants," the judges wrote.

There was no immediate comment from lawyers for Croft and Fox.

Fox and Croft were convicted in federal court in Grand Rapids in a prosecution that represented the largest domestic terrorism case in a generation that shed light on political extremism in Michigan and the rise of threats facing public officials.

Jurors convicted them of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction after a first trial ended with a hung jury and the acquittals of two codefendants. Croft also was convicted of possessing an unregistered destructive device, a 10-year felony.

They were among 14 men charged in federal or state courts in 2020 because of their involvement in alleged plans to kidnap and harm Whitmer, Michigan's top government official. Overall, nine suspects were convicted or accepted plea deals in state and federal courts, while five men were acquitted.

The convictions followed months of criticism from defense lawyers about FBI agent misconduct and claims that a team of FBI agents and informants orchestrated the conspiracy. The government team was accused of entrapping Fox, Croft and others who were portrayed as a ragtag band of social outcasts who harbored antigovernment views.

“The record before us is replete with evidence that Fox and Croft agreed to kidnap Governor Whitmer from her lakeside home provided the right opportunity presented itself,” the judges wrote. “… Fox explicitly stated his intention to kidnap the governor to Croft and others. And … Fox and Croft’s agreement formed as they discussed plans to carry out the venture.

“Given the evidence that defendants had both an agreement to kidnap Governor Whitmer and committed numerous overt acts in furtherance of the agreement, their challenges based on the sufficiency of the evidence fail,” the judges added.

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