(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A judge wants to know why the men convicted of secondary roles in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been transferred to federal prisons out of state.
The men—Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico—have appeals pending following a trial on state charges in Jackson County in 2022. But their lawyers said it’s extremely hard to work with them hundreds of miles away.
They said the distance interferes with a right to have access to Michigan courts.
On Friday, Michigan Judge Thomas Wilson demanded answers from the state about the matter.
“Without that information, it feels like we’re flying blind,” Judge Wilson said.
Assistant Attorney General John Pallas said he didn’t know specifically why the three men were transferred out of Michigan, other “than general safety concerns.”
Pallas pledged to help the lawyers improve their ability to talk to the men. Wilson, however, set a hearing for Dec. 1 to get answers and an update.
Headline USA has previously reported how Bellar, Musico and Morrison have been blocked from speaking to their attorneys or reviewing necessary documents for their appeals.
“The Michigan Department of Corrections has transferred Mr. Bellar to a Federal prison facility in the State of Pennsylvania. Prior to the transfer, communication with Mr. Bellar was convenient, with counsel being able to hold the aforementioned video conference and his mail was being received,” Bellar’s attorney said in a filing last month.
“Since the transfer, however, communication is almost non-existent, with the Federal prison being unable or unwilling to facilitate confidential video and/or telephonic communication and with mail being returned to counsel as being ‘Refused.’”
Meanwhile, the so-called “ringleaders” of the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot—Barry Croft and Adam Fox—also have appeals pending. Justice Department prosecutors have until Nov. 17 to respond to those appeals.
Croft and Fox have been subjected to similarly harsh treatment from the federal prisons system. Initially held in Michigan and communicating with a journalist about their cases, both men were suddenly transferred to supermax facilities in February, and they haven’t been heard from publicly since.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
