3 men cleared in last Whitmer kidnapping plot trial

The last three men to stand trial in connection with a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were found not guilty on all counts. 

William Null, his twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor were among a group of 14 men charged in state and federal court over an alleged plot to kidnap the governor at her vacation home. 

The Null brothers and Molitor were the last of the 14 to stand trial; nine other men who had connections to the plan were previously convicted.

They were found not guilty of providing support for a terrorist act and a weapon charge, The Associated Press reported. They were accused of supporting leaders of the kidnapping plan by participating in military-style drills and visiting Whitmer’s vacation home in northern Michigan. 

The jury in Antrim County, where Whitmer’s vacation home is located, heard 14 days of testimony. Molitor and William Null testified in their own defense. They admitted they attended gun drills and took rides to check Whitmer’s property.

William Null said he and his brother broke away when talk turned to getting explosives. Michael Null did not testify, and his lawyer declined to question witnesses. 

The key players in the kidnapping plot, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of a kidnapping conspiracy last year, AP reported.

According to evidence from the trial, the plan was derived after the men were disgusted with government-imposed COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. When the plan was exposed, Whitmer blamed then-President Trump, saying his actions gave “comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.”