Michigan AG Appeals Reversal of 2022 Whitmer Plot Conviction as Court Says Kidnapping Wasn't Violent
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Jun 10
Michigan AG Appeals Reversal of 2022 Whitmer Plot Conviction as Court Says Kidnapping Wasn't Violent
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Jun 10
Summary
Dana Nessel said Michigan will appeal after the state Court of Appeals overturned Joseph Morrison's conviction tied to the 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The panel reversed the terrorism-support conviction in part because kidnapping was not treated as a violent felony in this case, a rationale Nessel called "irredeemably nonsensical."
Morrison was convicted in October 2022 alongside other Wolverine Watchmen members on material-support, firearms and gang-related charges; the terrorism-support count carried up to 20 years in prison.
Whitmer's office said the ruling does not change the underlying facts that Morrison and others backed an effort to kidnap and kill the governor, warning that freeing them endangers the public and normalizes political violence.
The case stems from the broader 2020 investigation that led to 14 militia arrests after an informant began cooperating when discussions escalated from targeting police to public officials.