In a development that immediately reignited fierce debate on justice, entrapment, and political rhetoric, President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday he is considering pardons for several men convicted in the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The comments came during an Oval Office press availability and quickly drew national attention.
Trump’s remarks were characteristically blunt. “I did watch the trial,” he told reporters. “It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I’ll be honest with you.”
The men convicted in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer could be released because tRump has said he’s considering pardoning them.
Hardcore fascism.
— Mostly True News (@mostlytruenews.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 8:41 PM
While stopping short of a firm commitment, Trump said the case had been “brought to [his] attention” and added, “A lot of people are asking me that question from both sides, actually.”
Trump’s announcement that he is considering pardoning those that planned and attempted to kidnap and murder Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the GOP’s unanimous silent consent as well as his continued support from his base shows the world how inhuman and depraved a large segment of America is.
— 🌴Jeff🌴 (@counseloroh.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 10:20 PM
According to Trump, the men may have said “stupid things” under the influence of alcohol but were treated with disproportionate force by the Justice Department. “A lot of people think they got railroaded, and probably some people don’t,” he concluded, leaving the door wide open to a future pardon.
Trump is now floating possible pardons for men accused in the kidnapping plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Let that sink in: he’s considering mercy for people tied to a domestic terror plot. This isn’t “law and order”—it’s a green light for political violence.
— Isabel Santos (@isabelsantos.bsky.social) May 29, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Of the 14 individuals initially charged in connection with the 2020 kidnapping plot, six were charged federally, while the others were processed through Michigan’s state court system. Only those facing federal convictions are eligible for a presidential pardon.
The most prominent among them:
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Barry Croft Jr. – Sentenced to 20 years, Croft was labeled the ringleader and also convicted of a weapons charge.
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Adam Fox – Sentenced to 16 years, considered a central conspirator.
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Both men are incarcerated in a federal prison in Colorado.
Other federal outcomes included:
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Ty Garbin – 2½ years.
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Kaleb Franks – 4 years.
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Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris – Found not guilty.
The state-level convictions, including those of Paul Bellar (7 years), Joseph Morrison (10 years), and Pete Musico (12 years), fall outside Trump’s pardon authority.
Defense attorneys for Fox and Croft have long argued that the men were set up by the FBI, claiming that undercover agents and informants encouraged the plot, raising serious questions about entrapment. While courts rejected these arguments, a 6th Circuit Court ruling in April upheld their sentences, affirming the legitimacy of the convictions.
Nevertheless, Trump allies see a parallel between these cases and the January 6 prosecutions, painting the men as victims of overzealous federal authorities. Trump’s new pardon attorney, Ed Martin Jr. — a former personal attorney of the president — went so far as to call Fox and Croft “victims just like January 6.”
The political implications are considerable. Trump pardoned more than 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol breach on his first day in office during his second term. Adding the Whitmer plotters to that list would cement Trump’s broader campaign to reframe federal prosecutions of right-wing extremism as politically motivated overreach.
Donald Trump is threatening to pardon the domestic terrorists who attempted to kidnap Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, two months after she met Trump at The White House.
Let it be another reminder that he is waging civil war.
Helping Trump is hurting America. Don’t do it.
— Build Back Blue (@buildingbackblue.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Governor Whitmer, for her part, has not yet commented on the possible pardons. However, during the 2020 campaign, she blamed Trump’s rhetoric for emboldening extremists. The chilling nature of the kidnapping plot—a plan to abduct her from her vacation home and trigger wider conflict—was a flashpoint during the pandemic-era political unrest.
Ironically, despite their bitter past, Whitmer and Trump appeared together earlier this year at events announcing a new fighter jet mission at Selfridge Air Force Base. Trump even called her “excellent” in front of reporters in March. The potential for her name to resurface in a controversial pardon case could complicate that fragile political détente.
