Barry Croft Jr., 47, of Bear, Delaware, was sentenced Wednesday to 235 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or owned and knowingly possessed an unregistered destructive device, which was a commercial firework fashioned with shrapnel to serve as a hand grenade.
The Justice Department indicated that Croft was convicted by a federal jury in August 2022 during an 11-day retrial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Croft and others intended to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer from her vacation home near Elk Rapids, Michigan, and use the destructive devices to facilitate their plot to harm and hindering the governor’s security team and police officers.
Confederates specifically explored placing a bomb under an interstate overpass near a pedestrian walkway. A jury in a previous trial was unable to reach a verdict.
Croft is the latest defendant to be sentenced for his role in the plot.
Adam Fox, 39, of Wyoming, Michigan, was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in the conspiracy.
Ty Garbin, 27, of Hartland, Michigan, pleaded guilty in January 2021 and initially received a sentence of 75 months, or more than six years, in prison. The district court later reduced that sentence to 30 months, or two and a half years in prison, after fully considering his cooperation in both trials.
Kaleb Franks, 28, of Waterford, Michigan, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty and testifying at both trials.
Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were acquitted at the first trial in April 2022.