Two more cases in Whitmer kidnap plot likely to be overturned

LANSING, Mich. — Two more defendants in the 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are likely to see their convictions tossed out, at least for a time, as part of an appeal of the wide-ranging prosecution of multiple individuals ensnared in the alleged scheme.

In June, a Court of Appeals ruling vacated defendant Joseph Morrison's conviction based on the legal definition of kidnapping. The ruling has a precedential effect on the convictions of his co-defendants, Pete Musico and Paul Bellar, Assistant Attorney General John Pallas acknowledged during a Court of Appeals hearing Tuesday.

But Pallas noted the Morrison appellate decision is being appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. And he asked the Musico and Bellar appellate panel Tuesday to note in its eventual ruling that it disagreed with the published opinion, setting up a potential conflict in the Court of Appeals and giving the Michigan Supreme Court more material to work with if it weighs in on appeal.

"I’m certainly not going to ... get up here and say that the panel is not bound to do what the Morrison panel did in its ruling," Pallas said. "All I’m asking is for the opinion to indicate that it disagrees with that decision.”

But the attorneys for Musico and Bellar argued the court should go a step further than Morrison, and dismiss the cases against their clients altogether, rather than allow a retrial.

"The question is whether you can still seek retrial after presenting a very patently insufficient basis for your conviction," said Jason Eggert, an attorney for Musico. "We argue that that is not, should not, be permitted."

Ronald Ambrose, an attorney for Bellar, argued his client left the group, Wolverine Watchmen, before the alleged kidnapping plans were firmly outlined. It would be difficult for Bellar to support an alleged terrorist plot, as the state has charged, Ambrose reasoned, if he wasn't part of the group when that alleged plot was formulated.

"When things got extreme, he left," Ambrose said. "To lump him in with the extremists of the group is just wrong."

The Tuesday hearing in front of Judges Michael Kelly, Sima Patel and Daniel Korobkin was held to determine whether Musico and Bellar's convictions in the Whitmer kidnapping case should be overturned. Patel and Korobkin, appointees of Whitmer, and Kelly did not indicate how they would rule Tuesday. But published opinions, like the one in Morrison, are generally binding on the Court of Appeals bench unless overturned by a higher court.

Bellar, Morrison and Musico were convicted of providing material aid to terrorists, being members of a gang in connection with the kidnapping plot and a gun charge in 2022 in connection with the 2020 plot to kidnap Whitmer. The jury found they were associates of plot ringleaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft, who were convicted in federal court of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Bellar and Musico have so far been unsuccessful in overturning their cases.

But Morrison, whose case was separated from Bellar and Musico's during the appeal process, had his conviction overturned in June by the Court of Appeals based on a ruling that found kidnapping is not considered a violent felony and shouldn't have been described as such to the jury. The panel ordered a new trial for Morrison.

Under Michigan law, terrorism-related charges require proof of the commission of, or plans to commit, a "violent felony," which is defined as involving "the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against an individual," according to the June opinion.

While Michigan's law related to kidnapping initially involved language referring to "forcibly or secretly" confining someone, the June order noted that it was amended in 2006 to remove all references to force.

The panel of judges in the Morrison case acknowledged that the broader plot alleged in the Whitmer kidnapping case included harming or killing law enforcement and politicians, including the governor — which would qualify as a violent felony — but the jury also was told it could find kidnapping to be a violent felony that would establish terrorism.

"It allowed the jurors to find defendant guilty on an invalid basis," the panel wrote. "... We cannot determine the extent to which the jury based its conviction on the underlying felony of kidnapping as opposed to murder or some other offense."

Pallas, on Tuesday, described the Morrison decision as the "elephant in the room," supplying the Musico and Bellar cases with a precedent for vacating their cases, despite lacking "common sense."

"The decision is legally wrong and further makes no sense from a logical or common sense point of view," Pallas said. "How can kidnapping not be violent? It just doesn't make sense."

Morrison had a panel of judges all appointed by Snyder, while Bellar and Musico have a three-judge panel that includes two Whitmer appointees. Nessel said last month that she'll appeal the Morrison ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court, which currently has a 6-1 majority of Democrat-nominated and -appointed judges.

The Court of Appeals decision in the Morrison case was the latest defeat for prosecutors in cases tied to the Whitmer kidnapping plot.

In September 2023, an Antrim County jury acquitted William Null, twin brother Michael Null, and Eric Molitor of providing support for a terrorist act and a weapon charge. They were the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal courts, where nine suspects originally were convicted or accepted plea deals, while five men were acquitted.

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