Whitmer Kidnapping Plotter Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

One of the men convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Tuesday.

The Details: U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jonker sentenced Adam Fox to 16 years in prison and five years of supervision. Federal prosecutors had pushed for a life sentence, and accused Fox of attempting "to light the fire of a second revolution." Jonker said that would be "too much" but agreed that a "significant sentence" was warranted. Fox's lawyer said the government's allegations "do not accurately reflect either his actual intentions or his actual capabilities."

For Context: Fox and another man, Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction over the summer. Croft Jr. was sentenced to 19 years on Wednesday. Fox, Croft Jr., and others planned to kidnap Whitmer before the Nov. 2020 election and hold a "treason" trial over her COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Prosecutors said they planned to detonate a bomb as part of the kidnapping plot to foil the law enforcement response. 

How the Media Covered It: The sentence was a top story from news sources across the political spectrum, especially from left-rated sources. Reports from the left and center often labeled Fox as the plot's "ring leader"; Fox News described him as the "co-leader," and Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) said he was "one of two convicted leaders."