On to Day 4, the jury in the federal trial of the kidnapping plot of Governor Gretchen Whitmer is still without a verdict.
This follows three full weeks of testimony. Brandon Caserta, Adam Fox, Daniel Harris and Barry Croft await their fate. All are charged with conspiracy to kidnap, all but Caserta face related weapons charges.
There have been few signs of progress from the deliberation room, only two questions have been returned to the courtroom, one for a legal definition of the word ‘weapon,’ and asking for transcripts of witness testimony, which were denied.
Other than that, it’s been 24 hours of deliberation and it will continue Thursday.
Whenever the verdict does come, the Whitmer kidnapping plot saga is not over. Let alone a chance for appeals in the federal trial, there are still state cases.
Eight men total are being charged by the state, essentially for very similar crimes without crossing state lines. The four men tried in Grand Rapids trained in Michigan and Wisconsin and attended meetings in Ohio. The state cases did not.
Three men, Pete Musico, Joe Morrison and Paul Bellar are scheduled for trial in September in Jackson County, they are original members of the Wolverine Watchmen.
Another five men, Michael and William Null, Shawn Fix, Brian Higgins and Eric Molitor, will be tried in Antrim County. They rode along on the recon missions to the governor’s lake house in Elk Rapids. They do not have a trial date set.
Fix did have a hearing on Wednesday, he was requesting the curfew be lifted from his house arrest so he can work as a truck driver. That was granted.
As for the federal trial in Grand Rapids, the jury will come back Thursday. Day 4 of deliberations begins at 8:30.
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