Nine people from an anti- government group called the Wolverine Watchmen were convicted in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
January 6 police officers condemn Donald Trump’s pardons
Lawmakers and police officers criticized Donald Trump’s decision to pardon January 6 defendants.
President Donald Trump said he will consider pardoning a group of people convicted for conspiring during the COVID-19 pandemic to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“I will take a look at it,” Trump said during a May 28 event at the White House in response to a reporter’s question. “I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job.”
The Justice Department charged 14 people from an anti-government group called the Wolverine Watchmen in a plot to kidnap Whitmer for her role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and nine were convicted or pleaded guilty. Barry Croft Jr., 47, of Bear, Delaware, described as a ring leader of the group, got the longest prison sentence at more than 19 years.
“I’ll be honest with you,” said Trump. “It looked to me like some people said some stupid things, you know, they were drinking and I think they said stupid things.”
Defense lawyers for Croft and Adam Fox, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, have accused the FBI of engaging in entrapment by infiltrating the group as informants and undercover agents.
Last week, the Justice Department’s new pardon attorney, Ed Martin, said he is going to take a “hard look” at the prison terms of Croft and Fox and describing the incident as “fed-knapping.”
“On the pardon front, we can’t leave these guys behind,” Martin said during an interview with The Breanna Morello Show. “In my opinion, these are victims just like January 6.”
On his first day in office for his second term, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol during a deadly riot on Jan. 6, 2021, aimed at stopping the certification of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal