by James David Dickson at The Detroit News
Three men accused in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will not face charges of false report or threat of terrorism, a Jackson County judge ruled Monday.
Judge Michael Klaeren of 12th District Court in Jackson dismissed the charge against Joseph Morrison, 26, and Pete Musico, 43, both of Munith, and declined a request by prosecutors to add it to the charges against Paul Bellar, 22, of Milford.
Klaeren also on Monday ordered Bellar, Morrison and Musico to stand trial on three remaining charges, gang membership and providing material support for terrorism, both punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as well as felony firearm, punishable by up to two years in prison.
Morrison, Musico and Bellar are among seven men accused of having ties to the militia group Wolverine Watchmen and are charged in the alleged plot. The others include Shawn Fix of Belleville, Eric Molitor of Cadillac, Michael Null of Plainwell and William Null of Shelbyville. The men had faced a total of 19 felony charges for firearms and terror-related acts.
After onboarding new members through mediums such as Facebook, the group’s conversations took place in encrypted chats. The limited nature of those chats is why the terror threat charge was dismissed, Klaeren said.
“There has to be some form of intent here to incite mayhem,” said Klaeren.
Klaeren added that an encrypted communication network, not accessible to the general public, was “in many respects no different than thinking the thought to yourself.”
“One does not need to participate in all acts of a conspiracy,” Klaeren said, after hearing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys. “One does not even need to know all the co-conspirators.”
The terror threat charge carried a possible penalty of 20 years in prison.
In a statement, Attorney General Dana Nessel said the state would “explore all options for reconsideration of the charge moving forward.”
The gang membership charge and the felony firearms charge were dependent on the material support for terrorism charge, Klaeren said.
But just as the secret nature of the group’s communications is why the terrorism threat charge was tossed, Klaeren used it as a reason why the gang membership charge could not be dismissed without examining the material support charge.
“Why all the secrecy?” Klaeren said.
He noted the group had a “multi-tiered vetting process, secret means of communication, required training and exclusive membership.”
Klaeren said the three men were “joined at the hip,” and compared them to mountain climbers at a summit.
“They started a very big snowball that wasn’t going to stop,” Klaeren said.
That the kidnap plot never materialized is not…
Continue Reading