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Lawyer: Man charged in Whitmer plot swayed by FBI informant

Alleged 'ringleader' in Whitmer kidnapping plot planned to take hostages at Capitol building, set it on fire
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A lawyer for one of the men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 has told jurors he was a near-homeless, pot-smoking “misfit” who was influenced by an FBI informant whom he met at a protest.

Defense attorney Christopher Gibbons on Wednesday refuted a prosecutor’s claim that Adam Fox was a mastermind of the plot against the Democratic governor.

He said during opening statements in a federal courtroom in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that “Fox did not commit a crime in this case."

Four men face trial: Fox, Brandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr. and Daniel Harris. Prosecutors say the men came up with the plan to snatch Whitmer in 2020 because they were angry about pandemic restrictions.