Two More Convictions Over Michigan Governor Kidnapping Plot Overturned by Appeals Court

In a decision that feels oddly like watching legal gymnastics, a Michigan Court of Appeals on Monday erased the terrorism convictions of Pete Musico and Paul Bellar. Both men had been found guilty of providing material support for an act of terrorism tied to the 2020 scheme to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The court’s reasoning is technical but important: under Michigan law, kidnapping does not qualify as the kind of violent felony that can support a terrorism charge. Because of that mismatch, the panel said the earlier ruling that cleared co‑defendant Joe Morrison in June must also apply here.

Attorney General Dana Nessel was quick to criticize the outcome, calling it “linguistic gymnastics.” She said she will urge the state’s Supreme Court to review the case and, if possible, restore the convictions.

None of the three men were ever accused of actually planning the abduction. In fact, Bellar had moved out of state weeks before the FBI swooped in during October 2020, and both he and Musico say they’d lost contact with the core group long before the plot was busted.

What they did share was membership in a paramilitary outfit that trained with Adam Fox, a self‑styled militia leader now serving a 16‑year federal sentence for conspiracy. Prosecutors say the group plotted to snatch Whitmer from her vacation home just before the 2020 presidential election, allegedly motivated by anger over COVID‑19 restrictions and perceived threats to gun rights.

Whitmer herself was never harmed. Undercover FBI agents and informants infiltrated Fox’s circle for months, ultimately foiling the kidnapping plan. The broader investigation yielded mixed results: out of 14 men charged, five were acquitted, several received prison terms and now a handful see their convictions tossed.

The episode underscores how a single legal nuance can ripple through a high‑profile case, and it leaves the state’s top prosecutor contemplating a last‑ditch appeal to the Supreme Court.