(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Michigan Judge Thomas Wilson has upheld the convictions for three men convicted on state charges of assisting the 2020 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot—a conspiracy fomented by the FBI’s undercover agents and informants.
Defendants Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico were convicted of supporting terrorism in October 2022, and were given seven-year, 10-year and 12-year prison sentences, respectively. Three other defendants were acquitted in a separate state trial, while two defendants were acquitted and two were convicted after a second trial in federal court.
Bellar, Morrison and Musico motioned for a retrial on the grounds that evidence of the FBI’s entrapment scheme wasn’t presented at their trial.
For instance, the FBI gave prepaid credit cards to the kidnap plot “ringleaders,” Adam Fox and Barry Croft (the two never used them). The FBI also created phony “III%er” militia groups around the country, and appointed Fox as the leader of the Michigan chapter. The Three Percenters are a national network of militias, the name being a reference to the fact that only about 3% of colonists took up arms against King George in the American Revolution.
This is one hell of an admission by Judge Wilson. But how the hell can he uphold the convictions when accepts this as fact? https://t.co/xx9ZUJXQrx pic.twitter.com/LW66HNIYxh
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) January 28, 2025
Judge Wilson did acknowledge that the III%er militias involved in the Whitmer kidnap plot were created by the FBI.
“The three percent groups were established across the country and were created by the FBI,” Judge Wilson said. “The FBI used assets from other 3% groups in forming the Michigan 3% group.”
But even though the defendants weren’t allowed to present that evidence at their trial, they were able to do so during a pretrial entrapment hearing in 2022, the judge said. Their arguments were unsuccessful at the time, and Judge Wilson declined to change his mind in his recent decision, which was made on Jan. 24.
Judge Wilson also upheld the defendants’ convictions for being in a gang, ruling that their Wolverine Watchmen group qualified as one.
The judge did say that the defendants’ gang membership prison sentences should run concurrently and not consecutively, and he said he’ll issue a new judgment with that correction. It’s not clear if that will reduce the amount of time the defendants have to serve.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a press release on Tuesday celebrating the decision.
“Public officials must be able to carry out their duties without fearing for their lives,” Nessel said.
However, Judge Wilson’s decision was only in relation to the Bellar, Musico and Morrison’s post-conviction motions. They still have a chance to fight their convictions in the appeals court. The federal inmates, Croft and Fox, also still have appeals pending.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
