Chillicothe
Platinum Member
- Feb 14, 2021
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Seems to me, a non-lawyer, that today may not have been the best of days for defense lawyers.
Not when 5 of your key defense witnesses plead the 5th!
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Defense Rests In Trial Of 4 Men In Gov. Whitmer Kidnap Plot
(AP) – One of four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer testified in his own defense Thursday, repeatedly telling jurors “absolutely not” when asked if he agreed to abduct her before the 2020 election.
Daniel Harris, a former Marine, said he wanted to maintain his infantry skills when he joined a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, not take down a governor or blow up a bridge near her vacation home to foil police.
His testimony came on the 14th day of trial and a day after prosecutors finished presenting evidence including secret recordings, violent, profanity-filled posts from social media and vital testimony from two men who pleaded guilty.
Harris, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., and Brandon Caserta are accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan because of their disgust with government and her tough COVID-19 restrictions.
At least five other defense witnesses bowed out Wednesday, saying they would assert their right to remain silent if called to testify. They included an informant, Steve Robeson of Oxford, Wisconsin, who switched sides during the investigation and tipped off Croft that the FBI wanted to arrest him, according to the government.
The others who invoked the Fifth Amendment had participated in training as well as discussions about the plot but have not been charged.
The men were arrested in October 2020 amid talk of obtaining an explosive that could blow up a bridge and hold back police from responding to a kidnapping at Whitmer’s second home, according to trial testimony.
Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, said the group acted willingly and had hoped to strike before the election, cause national chaos and prevent Joe Biden from winning the presidency.
(from reportage this afternoon from the detroit news.)
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Not when 5 of your key defense witnesses plead the 5th!
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Defense Rests In Trial Of 4 Men In Gov. Whitmer Kidnap Plot
(AP) – One of four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer testified in his own defense Thursday, repeatedly telling jurors “absolutely not” when asked if he agreed to abduct her before the 2020 election.
Daniel Harris, a former Marine, said he wanted to maintain his infantry skills when he joined a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, not take down a governor or blow up a bridge near her vacation home to foil police.
His testimony came on the 14th day of trial and a day after prosecutors finished presenting evidence including secret recordings, violent, profanity-filled posts from social media and vital testimony from two men who pleaded guilty.
Harris, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., and Brandon Caserta are accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan because of their disgust with government and her tough COVID-19 restrictions.
At least five other defense witnesses bowed out Wednesday, saying they would assert their right to remain silent if called to testify. They included an informant, Steve Robeson of Oxford, Wisconsin, who switched sides during the investigation and tipped off Croft that the FBI wanted to arrest him, according to the government.
The others who invoked the Fifth Amendment had participated in training as well as discussions about the plot but have not been charged.
The men were arrested in October 2020 amid talk of obtaining an explosive that could blow up a bridge and hold back police from responding to a kidnapping at Whitmer’s second home, according to trial testimony.
Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, said the group acted willingly and had hoped to strike before the election, cause national chaos and prevent Joe Biden from winning the presidency.
(from reportage this afternoon from the detroit news.)
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