Last three men acquitted In Whitmer kidnapping plot chock-full of FBI meddling

Michael and William Null, twin brothers, and Eric Molitor were found not guilty of providing material support for an act of terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms. Jurors began deliberations Thursday afternoon following a 14-day trial before Judge Charles Hamlyn.

During the course of the federal proceedings, defense attorneys uncovered an elaborate entrapment scheme that involved dozens of FBI informants, supervising agents, and undercover employees.

"In this Case, the undisputed evidence...establishes that government agents and informants concocted, hatched, and pushed this 'kidnapping plan' from the beginning, doing so against defendants who explicitly repudiated the plan. When the government was faced with evidence showing that the defendants had no interest in a kidnapping plot, it refused to accept failure and continued to push its plan. The government's exploitation of its virtually unlimited resources, poured into its investigation, further underscores entrapment as a matter of law."

The FBI arrested 14 men, including the Null brothers and Molitor, in early October 2020.

Whitmer and Joe Biden leveraged the news in the final weeks of the 2020 campaign, accusing Trump of inspiring right-wing "militia" men to kidnap and kill one of his top political foes.

As Whitmer played the victim, Biden compared the alleged kidnappers to ISIS.

Perhaps jurors did not take kindly to Hamlyn's arrogant preachifying. Or perhaps jurors simply recognized there was no evidence outside of the conduct of FBI agents and informants to support the charges. Or perhaps the jury, like the majority of Americans, no longer trusts the FBI — two agents testified during the trial — and refused to reward the agency's bad behavior.

Brandon Caserta, one of two men acquitted on federal charges last year, cheered the verdicts.

"The acquittals solidify the truth that this was an FBI set up. Out of all the people charged, half were found innocent by law. And that's a big deal. It proves that the FBI is targeting innocent people to frame them for political and career advancement. It also goes to show that my and Daniel's acquittal wasn't just a fluke. Adam Fox and Barry Croft need to be released."

Attorneys representing Fox and Croft filed appeal briefs last month.

"[The FBI assets] were behind every key event--including all four attended by Croft, as well as both drive-bys and the 'WMD' nonsense with [FBI undercover agent Tim] Bates' video--and they incited the men at every opportunity. It was the FBI's 'conspiracy' to 'kidnap' and use 'WMD,' not Croft's."

DOJ has until November to respond. It is expected to be a lengthy process.

In the meantime, those on the side of truth and justice can celebrate another humiliating loss for the government and a darkening black eye on the FBI.