President Donald Trump said this week he would look into whether pardons are warranted for men convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, reviving national interest in a high-profile case that raises questions on whether FBI malfeasance led to their radicalization and alleged entrapment.
“I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job,” Trump told reporters Wednesday, referencing the convictions of two of the plot’s main defendants. In August 2022, Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox were convicted of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home, plotting to destroy a nearby bridge, and hopefully spark a second civil war. Prosecutors described them as anti-government extremists bent on political violence, while defense attorneys argued they were manipulated by a sprawling FBI sting operation involving undercover agents and informants.
The renewed attention has prompted questions about the integrity of the case, which took place during President Joe Biden‘s single term when former Attorney General Merrick Garland was in charge of the DOJ. Julie Kelly, an independent journalist known for her reporting on the Jan. 6 prosecutions, confirmed to the Washington Examiner that she met with newly appointed pardon attorney Ed Martin on Thursday to review alleged flaws in the way FBI agents handled the Whitmer kidnapping case.
What Martin has considered so far
“This was just giving an overview of what happened in the Whitmer case. You know, the entrapment operation, how it went down, the timing of it — more importantly, that this represented another instance of the FBI interfering in an election against the president.”
Great to meet with @julie_kelly2 today in DOJ with my new office neighbor ‘The Great One’ Aakash Singh. pic.twitter.com/nN1V3MmSOS
— Ed Martin (@EagleEdMartin) May 29, 2025
Kelly said she spoke to Martin solely in the context of his second role on the newly formed Weaponization Working Group, a special team formed under Attorney General Pam Bondi to reexamine major federal prosecutions from the Biden administration. “We just sort of talked about it in that context,” Kelly said, “and where to look, what sort of records they might be able to get, so they could start compiling the timeline.”
Kelly emphasized that she did not recommend any specific action regarding pardons. “I was not involved in any pardon discussions. I will not be involved in any pardon discussions,” she said. “This is just related to another example of the political weaponization of the FBI against the president.”
In her conversation with Martin, Kelly said she flagged the heavy use of FBI informants and agents in the sting operation, many of whom played active roles in planning and facilitating the alleged kidnapping plot.
“The number of FBI informants that were embedded in this operation, the undercover agents, what they did when they were introduced to the operation, how they targeted these men, how they organized various events — so they got them stoned and drunk and then recorded them to use as evidence later,” Kelly told the Washington Examiner. “Just the level of granular involvement by the informants and agents, but also how so much of it was dictated from higher-ups, including the handling agents out of the Detroit FBI field office.”
“There’s a very strong likelihood that it came from FBI headquarters, because that came out during the trial,” shaded.
The FBI’s counterterrorism strategy came under fire during the prosecution of men accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer, with critics alleging that the bureau’s use of informants veered into outright entrapment. At least a dozen confidential informants and undercover agents were involved, not only gathering intel but helping shape nearly every aspect of the plot — from organizing meetings and funding travel to introducing the idea of using explosives. One informant, “Big Dan” Chappel, rose to leadership in the group, while another undercover agent suggested blowing up a bridge to delay police. During surveillance of Whitmer’s home, nearly half the people in the vehicles were federal operatives. Defense attorneys argued that their clients were manipulated into fantasizing about violence by the government itself, with one FBI handler even texting Chappel, “Mission is to kill the governor specifically.”
After Republicans won in 2022, the House Judiciary Committee put the Whitmer case on the list of things to examine and investigate, but no hearings were held.
“This is a lot more volatile case than the Jan. 6 defendants,” Kelly said. “It is a more complicated, complex issue.”
Trump’s apparent promise to Whitmer complicates case review
Trump’s comments about the case have drawn a sharp rebuke from Whitmer, who claimed Thursday that Trump promised not to issue pardons during a conversation last month.
“I talked to the president about a month ago and he asked me how I’d feel about this, and I said, ‘I think it would be the wrong decision.’ And he said, ‘Okay, I’ll drop it,’” Whitmer told Michigan Public Radio.
It’s unclear if Trump’s statement this week indicates a policy reversal, but the comment underscores his broader approach to clemency powers, which he has used aggressively in his second term.
Kelly said the public deserves more information about how this case was constructed and whether it was politically motivated. “This will be important public-facing work for the weaponization working group: how to explain this to the public. And then seeing, gauging the public’s opinion about pardons here,” she said.
How did the cases resolve in court?
Croft and Fox were found only found guilty by a jury of conspiring to kidnap the governor and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction after their first trial ended with a hung jury, in addition to full acquittals for two other defendants, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta.
Jurors agreed with the defense that Harris and Caserta were largely entrapped, casting doubt on the scope and integrity of the government’s case. A second trial later led to the convictions of Croft and Fox, with FBI operatives supplying the bulk of the evidence through audio and video recordings — many made while the group was under the influence of drugs or alcohol provided during the operation.
Two other men, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. Franks testified that FBI operatives encouraged the group to escalate the plan, including discussions about blowing up a bridge to slow down police, which began after agents got the men high. In total, more than a dozen men were arrested in connection with the plot, including eight who were charged in state court with supporting roles such as providing material support for terrorist acts or aiding the conspiracy.
Since returning to office, Trump has initiated reforms aimed at addressing perceived political biases within the DOJ. One of his first major acts included the issuance of pardons and commutations to over 1,500 individuals convicted or charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
No pardons without thorough review
While Kelly declined to offer a public stance on clemency, she noted that the public is far less informed about the Whitmer case than Jan. 6.
“It’s going to be trickier than the J6 [cases] I think, and more so because the public just is not aware of what happened in this case,” she said.
WHITMER ‘VERY DISAPPOINTED’ TRUMP WEIGHING PARDONS FOR KIDNAPPING PLOTTERS
“This is only about the federal indictments and convictions,” Kelly said. “They can’t do anything with the guys who are in jail on state charges.”
The White House has not indicated whether Trump will proceed with the pardons, and if any should come, it will likely only be after Martin’s team conducts a thorough post-mortem on the controversial case.
