(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Of all the unjust convictions in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Paul Bellar’s might be the most egregious.
After discouraging his cohorts from committing violence against politicians, the 25-year old Army veteran left the Michigan militia scene and moved back to South Carolina in July 2020—before the kidnapping plot was even contrived by the FBI’s own informants. Nevertheless, Bellar was arrested months later and found guilty last year.
By all accounts, Bellar looks to have a strong case for appeal—if he meets next month’s filing deadline.
However, Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico have been transferred to out-of-state prisons, where they can’t talk to their lawyers or access court records and Michigan law books—as Headline USA reported last month.
To top it off, Bellar could now be headed to “the hole” at FCI Schuylkill in Pennsylvania for a minor infraction. Bellar’s father, Tom Bellar, informed Headline USA of this fact on Tuesday, expressing fears that his son will miss his crucial appeal deadline due to the restrictive conditions.
According to Tom Bellar, his son had asked about the whereabouts of his former cellmate.
“They transferred his roommate, which was the only guy he truly trusted. In a phone call to his older sister, he said, ‘Hey, your address is the only one I know, so I gave it to him. If he writes you a letter, can you let me know he’s OK. I want to make sure he’s OK,’” the father said.
“They said inmates can’t mail each other. He was told by his case worker that he’s getting punished.”
The Bureau of Prisons indeed restricts inmates from mailing each other, but Bellar said he never was informed of this rule. Nevertheless, he expects a severe punishment for his infraction.
Tom said his son might either be sent to solitary confinement or have his communications restricted. Either punishment could affect his ability to meet next month’s appeal deadline, he said.
Intervention by Michigan Judge Thomas Wilson could be the only hope for Bellar, who otherwise will have to serve the remainder of his seven-year sentence if he doesn’t appeal in time. Musico and Morrison, who are in similar situations, face 12-year and 10-year prison sentences, respectively.
At a hearing last month, Wilson asked Michigan prosecutors why the Whitmer inmates were transferred out of state. Prosecutors have until Dec. 1 to give a reason.
“Non-violent first-time offenders being sent to another state already makes no sense, but the state apparently needed 40 days to make up an excuse,” Bellar’s father said.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
