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Man gets 12 years for assisting Gov. Whitmer kidnap plotter

JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — One of three men who forged an early alliance with the leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for assisting him before the FBI broke up the scheme in 2020.

Pete Musico was the first man to be sentenced in Jackson County. He will be followed by son-in-law Joe Morrison and Paul Bellar. They were convicted in October of providing material support for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum term of 20 years.

Morrison, Musico and Bellar were members of a paramilitary group known as the Wolverine Watchmen. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was never physically harmed by the plot.

The trial in state court was separate from a prosecution in federal court where two leaders, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of a kidnapping conspiracy. Two more men pleaded guilty and two others were acquitted.

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