JACKSON, Mich. — One of three men who forged an early alliance with the leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for assisting him before the FBI disbanded the scheme in 2020.
Paul Bellar’s sentencing came shortly after Pete Musico and Musico’s son-in-law Joe Morrison were given 12-year and 10-year prison sentences, respectively. They were convicted in October of providing material support for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum term of 20 years.
The trial in state court was separate from a prosecution in federal court where two leaders, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of a kidnapping conspiracy. Two more men pleaded guilty and two others were acquitted.
They were convicted in October of providing material support for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum term of 20 years, and two other crimes.
Musico, 45, Morrison, 28, and Bellar, 24, were members of a paramilitary group known as the Wolverine Watchmen. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was never physically harmed by the plot.
Musico and Morrison will be eligible for parole after serving their minimum sentences. The maximum they can held in prison would be 42 years under state law.
Judge Thomas Wilson presided over the first batch of convictions in state court, following the high-profile conspiracy convictions of four others in federal court. Fox and Croft Jr. were described as captains of an incredible plan, seeking to inspire a U.S. civil war known as the “boogaloo.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
