Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Monday she will challenge a state appeals court decision that reversed terrorism charges against two men convicted in the 2020 plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals that ordered new trials for Pete Musico and Paul Bellar was no surprise since a different panel of judges last month vacated convictions of co-defendant Joseph Morrison in a precedent-setting ruling.
The decisions determined the convictions were improper because the judge instructed jurors that kidnapping is considered a violent felony, which was required to find the men guilty of providing material support for an act of terrorism, gang membership, and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. The appeals court held kidnapping is not considered a violent felony under Michigan law because the use, attempted use, or the threat of force is not an element of the crime according to the statute.
The decision returns the case to the Jackson County Circuit Court, but Nessel said she intends to appeal both decisions to the Michigan Supreme Court because they “downplay domestic terrorism.”
“A previous ruling used linguistic gymnastics to overturn the conviction of an extremist,” Nessel said in a statement from her office. “It is clear that all three of these defendants engaged in a coordinated plan to kidnap and harm the governor and cause mayhem and destruction across our communities in the process. There is no word to describe this other than violent.”
The first deadline to file an appeal is next month. The deadline to challenge Monday’s decision is September 14.
