By Steve Neavling

The second leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced to 19.6 years in prison on Wednesday. 

Barry Croft, 47, and his co-defendant Adam Fox, were convicted of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in August. 

An Tuesday, Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Both men had faced up to life behind bars. 

In all, six men were charged on the federal level for their role in the kidnapping plot. 

In April, co-defendants Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were acquitted on related charges. 

Two others, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pleaded guilty and testified against Fox and Croft as part of a plea agreement. Garbin was sentenced to 75 months, but a judge reduced the sentence to 30 months in September. Franks received a 4-year prison sentence. 

The FBI arrested the six men in October 2020 and accused them of plotting to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation cottage and detonate a bomb under an interstate overpass to hinder law enforcement. 

The men were angry about Whitmer’s mandates to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

By Steve Neavling

Three people accused of kidnapping an FBI victim specialist have been indicted by a grand jury. 

Juan Francisco Alvarez-Soto, Deyvin Morales and Lourdes Alondra Bonilla were charged with kidnapping, carjacking, and brandishing a handgun during a crime of violence, the Associated Press reports.

They allegedly brandished a rifle and kidnapped FBI Victim Specialist Curt Lauinger while he was working in Red Shirt, S.D., on May 6. 

Details of the case remain murky, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to provide additional information. 

By Steve Neavling

A judge on Tuesday rejected claims by three men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that they were entrapped by the FBI. 

Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson declined to dismiss the case, saying the FBI probe did not “escalate” the alleged plot, The Detroit News reports .

“I just cannot, in reviewing this matter, (see) that the government … somehow pressured any one of these individuals to participate in anything, or to get in line with this way of thinking,” Wilson said, referring to their conservative, pro-militia ideology. “That was the very reason that we got the confidential informant in the very beginning was as soon as he had joined the group and learned that they were talking about harming police officers and potentially politicians that he contacted the FBI because of his concern out of what potentially could happen.”

The three defendants, Paul Bellar, 23; Joseph Morrison, 27; and his father-in-law Pete Musico, 44, are set for a trial on Sept. 12.

They are charged with providing material support to terrorism, felony firearm possession, and gang membership. 

They claimed an FBI informant induced them to hatch the plot. 

Two co-defendants, who pleaded guilty to the plot, have agreed to help prosecutors.

By Steve Neavling

FBI agents are in Haiti to help negotiate for the release of 16 American missionaries and one Canadian who were abducted by a gang Saturday. 

The agents arrived on Sunday, just hours after confirmation that 17 Christian missionaries, including five children and several elderly people, were abducted at a checkpoint Saturday, The Miami Herald reports.

“The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State,” the State Department said in a statement. “We have been in regular contact with senior Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and interagency partners. We will provide additional information as we are able.”

The “400 Mawozo” gang is known for extorting businesses and kidnapping people for ransom. It’s responsible for about 80% of the kidnappings that occur in Haiti, according to Gédéon Jean, who runs the Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights in Port-au-Prince. 

In April, the gang abducted Roman Catholic clergy. 

“This is the type of kidnapping that 400 Mawozo do; we call it a collective kidnapping where they kidnap any entire bus or car,” Jean said.

By Steve Neavling

FBI agents rescued a 17-year-old boy from a New Jersey apartment and fatally shot the man accused of kidnapping him early Wednesday. 

The raid was prompted by the abduction of a teenager who was reported missing after he failed to return home from work, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The boy’s father told authorities that he received a ransom demand. 

FBI agents came under fire after they tracked the boy and suspect to the New Jersey apartment. They returned fire, killing the suspect. 

The boy was unharmed. 

The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office is investigating the kidnapping. 

By Steve Neavling

Former FBI Special Agent William E. Plunkett just released his third book in his G-Men series, which brings to life the true story of a tormented, good-looking gangster who kidnapped a beautiful socialite from Louisville. 

In “The G-Men and The Heiress: The 1934 Alice Speed Stoll FBI Kidnapping Case,” Thomas Robinson Jr. masterminds the kidnapping of Alice Stoll and collects a $50,000 ransom, which he uses to fund a cross-country trip to Hollywood.

The story spans three decades and shows how Robinson dodged the death penalty and escaped from prison twice. 

Plunkett’s other books in the G-Men series are “A True FBI Crime Story of the 1930s” and “A 1929 FBI Washington Cold Case.”

Plunkett joined the FBI in 1982 and worked in Albany, Syracuse, Cincinnati, and Washington D.C. He was an original member of the Cincinnati FBI Joint Terrorism Working Group and the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11. 

By Steve Neavling

On the 14th anniversary of Robert Levinson’s disappearance on Tuesday, President Biden’s administration called on Iran to return the former FBI agent to his family and provide answers about what happened to him. 

Levinson, whose 73rd birthday is today, disappeared while on Kish Island, a tourist spot off the coast of Iran. He worked part-time for the CIA, and U.S. officials believed he died while in Iranian custody. 

“For 14 years the Iranian government has denied the U.S. government, the FBI, and most importantly, the Levinson family any answers about the circumstances surrounding Bob’s abduction,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said. “The FBI continues to mourn the loss of our beloved friend and colleague, and the Levinson family continues to grieve the loss of their husband, father, and grandfather. It’s appalling that the Iranian government has yet to cooperate, and we, along with our interagency partners, remain resolute in our efforts to investigate and seek the truth of what happened to Bob.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Levinson’s family.

“I was honored to speak with the Levinson family yesterday,” said Blinken, according to a State Department release. “Since his abduction in 2007, Bob, a father and husband, has missed graduations, marriages and the birth of all but one of his grandchildren. Bob’s family continues to advocate for the answers about what happened after he went to Kish Island in Iran 14 years ago.”

Blinken added, “We call on the Iranian government to provide credible answers to what happened to Bob Levinson, and to immediately and safely release all U.S. citizens who are unjustly held captive in Iran.”

Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. “will remain resolute in our support to the Levinson family and our commitment to pursuing justice for Mr. Levinson and his family.”

“After 14 years and repeated, persistent efforts to secure Iran’s cooperation in locating Mr. Levinson, we are still without answers,” Psaki said. “Nevertheless, we will continue to demand answers and to hold Iran accountable for his abduction, detention, and probable death. We will not relent until all of our citizens who continue to be wrongfully detained in Iran and around the world, are returned to their families.”

By Steve Neavling

A federal grand jury has indicted six men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

The indictment comes more than two months after the FBI arrested the suspects, who face up to life in prison on one count of kidnapping conspiracy. 

No trial date has been set. 

The indictment sheds new light on the case. One of the suspects, Brandon Caserta, 32, of Canton Township, instructed his co-conspirators in an encrypted video message that “if they encountered police during reconnaissance, they should give the officers one opportunity to leave, and kill them if they did not comply,” according to a court filing. 

The other indicted men are Adam Fox, 37, of Potterville; Ty Garbin, 25, of Hartland Township; Kaleb Franks, 26, of Waterford Township; Daniel Harris, 23, of Lake Orion; and Barry Croft, 44, of Delaware. An additional six suspects in the kidnapping plot were charged in state court. 

According to new filings, investigators raided sites in multiple states, including a firing range in northern Michigan and homes in metro Detroit. 

Federal prosecutors say the men were anti-government extremists who were incensed over Whitmer’s coronavirus restrictions.