A Michigan Court of Appeals panel on Monday set aside terrorism convictions for Pete Musico and Paul Bellar in connection with a 2020 kidnapping plot targeting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Both men had been convicted of providing material support for an act of terrorism, though they were not accused of direct involvement in the scheme itself.
The decision followed a precedent-setting ruling in June that overturned the conviction of co-defendant Joe Morrison on similar grounds. The appeals court determined that under Michigan’s terrorism statute, kidnapping does not qualify as an underlying violent felony that can support such charges. The panel said it was obligated to apply Morrison’s precedent to the cases of Musico and Bellar.
Attorney General Dana Nessel characterized the ruling as “linguistic gymnastics” and indicated she would seek review by the Michigan Supreme Court. Morrison, Musico, and Bellar had occupied secondary roles in the investigation and were not charged with direct participation in the kidnapping plot. Bellar had relocated out of state weeks before the FBI made arrests in October 2020, while Morrison and Musico stated they had lost contact with key figures involved in the scheme.
The three men had been members of a paramilitary group that trained alongside Adam Fox, who was prosecuted in federal court as a plot leader and is serving a 16-year sentence for conspiracy. The alleged scheme involved plans to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home before the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors attributed the conspiracy to anger over pandemic-related restrictions implemented by Whitmer and other state officials, as well as concerns about gun ownership rights.
The broader investigation produced mixed results for prosecutors, with five of 14 men acquitted at trial. Whitmer, a Democrat, was never physically harmed during the investigation, which utilized undercover FBI agents and informants embedded within Fox’s group for months.