By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
The new pardon attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice called Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox, the men serving time in prison for leading a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, “victims” on a podcast appearance last week while eyeing a possible pardon for the two.
On last Thursday’s episode of The Breanna Morello Show, a podcast hosted by a former Fox News and Newsmax producer, Morello opened the topic of the kidnapping plot by asking Ed Martin Jr. if the department was looking into pardoning Croft and Fox, saying she herself wanted justice for them and believed the FBI played a greater role in the plot than the men themselves, claiming Croft and Fox would not have come up with the plot if the FBI was not involved.
Martin said in response Whitmer’s kidnapping plot was a “fednapping,” claiming their convictions were a “weaponization of government” and that Croft and Fox had lesser involvement in the plot than the FBI agents and informants that infiltrated the plot and then built the case. He said the timing and the way the plot unfolded was “suspect.”
Martin also compared the Croft and Fox’s conviction to those convicted for participating in the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, claiming the men were “victims” just like those 1,500 people that were pardoned by President Donald Trump.
“I have complete confidence that we’re going to get a hard look at it,” Martin said on the podcast. “The president will want to know the facts about it.”
Whitmer press secretary Stacey LaRouche did not respond to requests for comment at time of publication.
The two men were first convicted for planning to kidnap Whitmer from her Elk Rapids vacation home in December 2022, with Fox receiving 16 years in prison and Croft receiving 19.5 years, both also receiving five years of supervised release after their sentences. The plot involved discussions of killing Whitmer.
The charges were brought during the first Trump administration and led by U.S. attorneys whom Trump appointed. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld the conviction in April 2025, rejecting the argument that there were any mistakes in the district court decision to convict or insufficient evidence in the conspiracy or possession of an unregistered destructive device charges against the men.
The panel of judges rejected the argument that there was no specific plan of action displayed by the two men, no plan to use a weapon of mass destruction, and government entrapment, which requires proof of government inducement of a crime. In this appeal argument from the panel, it was highlighted that Croft had first discussed the kidnapping of Whitmer in December 2019 and the idea originated with Fox.
Gongwer News Service
The new pardon attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice called Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox, the men serving time in prison for leading a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, “victims” on a podcast appearance last week while eyeing a possible pardon for the two.
On last Thursday’s episode of The Breanna Morello Show, a podcast hosted by a former Fox News and Newsmax producer, Morello opened the topic of the kidnapping plot by asking Ed Martin Jr. if the department was looking into pardoning Croft and Fox, saying she herself wanted justice for them and believed the FBI played a greater role in the plot than the men themselves, claiming Croft and Fox would not have come up with the plot if the FBI was not involved.
Martin said in response Whitmer’s kidnapping plot was a “fednapping,” claiming their convictions were a “weaponization of government” and that Croft and Fox had lesser involvement in the plot than the FBI agents and informants that infiltrated the plot and then built the case. He said the timing and the way the plot unfolded was “suspect.”
Martin also compared the Croft and Fox’s conviction to those convicted for participating in the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, claiming the men were “victims” just like those 1,500 people that were pardoned by President Donald Trump.
“I have complete confidence that we’re going to get a hard look at it,” Martin said on the podcast. “The president will want to know the facts about it.”
Whitmer press secretary Stacey LaRouche did not respond to requests for comment at time of publication.
The two men were first convicted for planning to kidnap Whitmer from her Elk Rapids vacation home in December 2022, with Fox receiving 16 years in prison and Croft receiving 19.5 years, both also receiving five years of supervised release after their sentences. The plot involved discussions of killing Whitmer.
The charges were brought during the first Trump administration and led by U.S. attorneys whom Trump appointed. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld the conviction in April 2025, rejecting the argument that there were any mistakes in the district court decision to convict or insufficient evidence in the conspiracy or possession of an unregistered destructive device charges against the men.
The panel of judges rejected the argument that there was no specific plan of action displayed by the two men, no plan to use a weapon of mass destruction, and government entrapment, which requires proof of government inducement of a crime. In this appeal argument from the panel, it was highlighted that Croft had first discussed the kidnapping of Whitmer in December 2019 and the idea originated with Fox.
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