Barry Croft Jr. sentenced to 19-plus years in Whitmer kidnapping plot

Barry Croft Jr., a Delaware trucker whom prosecutors labeled the "prime mover" in a violent domestic terrorist plot that planted a bull's-eye on Michigan's governor, was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during the heat of the pandemic.

To the chagrin of the government, Croft was spared a life sentence, just as his codefendant Adam Fox was a day earlier. But at 235 months — or 19 years, seven months — he got a stiffer sentence than Fox, who got 16 years.

"I do think of Mr. Croft as more culpable — he gave Mr. Fox something to hang on to, a higher purpose," U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker said.

In handing down the sentence, Jonker described Croft's crime as "serious," saying he and others didn't just dislike the governor personally, but they "disliked her policies" and sought to harm her, potentially "assassinate her."

"I agree with (the prosecutor) that the conduct here is serious ... it is a serious attempt to get to the governor," Jonker said, adding, "but I don't think it warrants a life sentence."

Jonker noted that he didn't believe that Croft and his codefendants were entrapped — as they had long argued — and commended law enforcement for intervening so the plot never materialized.

"We were never going to experience the worst here because law enforcement intervened early," said Jonker, who also thanked a onetime militia member who went undercover for the FBI after becoming concerned that the group was going to kill police officers. This individual became a key informant for the government and was the star witness at trial.

In pushing for a life sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler argued Croft Jr. was no different from other terrorists, alleging Croft and his codefendants took a perverse view of the Constitution and sought to use it to spark a violent uprising.

"It wasn't about masks or vaccines … or gun policy," Kessler said. "He's been wanting to do this for a long time. … These kinds of charlatans take a sacred document and show it to (others) and say, 'You can kill people and still be a good guy.' "

Kessler argued Croft Jr. didn't just want to kidnap Whitmer, nor did he even care about Whitmer, but wanted to spark a violent uprising against the government. And snatching any public figure, Kessler said, would help do that.

"It was about trying to influence the government … by force and not voting. He didn't want to have anything to do with voting. He said, 'That's gay to me,' " Kessler argued to the court, adding Croft Jr. wanted to blow up a bridge in an effort to slow down law enforcement during the Whitmer kidnap. "He drove all the way across the country from Delaware and went to a bridge … he said, 'I'm going to go up there to get eyes on a bridge.'

"This whole thing was his idea," Kessler said, alleging Croft Jr. also used Fox as a tool, and continues to blame others for his actions.

"He has shown no remorse," Kessler told the judge, arguing Croft Jr. has been posting on social media from behind bars and playing himself as a victim.

Croft's lawyer, Joshua Blanchard, urged the judge to show mercy to his client, whom he described as a loving father and struggling misfit who has battled mental health issues since childhood.

"The conduct of these men was serious and it had a serious impact on the governor, the state and on public office holders," Blanchard told the judge during the sentencing hearing. "I have spent countless hours listening to recordings of this case … the Barry Croft who I have come to know is more complex than the person I heard in those recordings … the government has painted a picture, perhaps fairly, as a radical … he said some awful, horrible things."

Blanchard got choked up at times as he addressed the judge about his client.

"One of the most common questions I get is, 'am I scared of my client?' " Blanchard said. "He's been humble, polite and appropriate … he's got three daughters that he's concerned about."

Blanchard continued:

"When I think about how he got here — I believe there is no question that Mr. Croft was isolated … before the pandemic," Blanchard said, noting his client spent hours alone on the road as a trucker. "He went way down a conspiracy rabbit hole."

And when the pandemic took off, Blanchard said, Croft Jr. went further down that rabbit hole.

The alleged plan to blow up a bridge triggered terrorism and weapons of mass destruction charges in the case as prosecutors said Croft Jr. and others tried to explode homemade bombs but failed, and later planned to buy explosives from a bomb dealer who was really an undercover FBI agent.

Croft Jr. was arrested at a New Jersey truck stop in 2020 one day after his four codefendants were arrested in an FBI sting in Ypsilanti, where prosecutors said the group had gone to make a down payment on explosives and pick up military gear, but FBI agents were there waiting with handcuffs.

A jury found Fox and Croft Jr. guilty in August. Two others pleaded guilty to charges, while two other men, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, were found not guilty in a separate trial in April. A first trial resulted in hung juries for both Fox and Croft.

Prosecutors argued at both trials that defendants plotted to kidnap Whitmer in large part out of anger over her handling of the pandemic. The government's star witness who helped the FBI build the case is a former militia member who joined a group called the Wolverine Watchmen and learned of their plot to target police officers, so he contacted the FBI and agreed to go undercover.

The defendants have long argued that this was a case of entrapment — that rogue FBI agents and informants were trying to build their own careers, concocted the kidnapping idea and then enticed the defendants to say and do things they wouldn't otherwise do.

A jury in the first trial appeared to agree with that defense theory if the outcome of that case is any indication: No one was convicted. Two men were acquitted on all counts. And the jury deadlocked on counts for Fox and Croft, who were retried and convicted on all counts at a second trial.

Fox and Croft pushed for a third trial and asked that the convictions be overturned, but the judge denied those requests in November.

In a separate state trial, three other men were found guilty in late October of providing support for a terrorist act for their roles in the plot. Earlier this month, five other men were ordered to stand trial for similar charges.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Barry Croft also spared life sentence in Whitmer kidnap plot