Two convicted in plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer denied release
(CBS DETROIT) - Two members of the Wolverine Watchmen who were involved in a plot to attack Michigan's capitol building and kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were denied release.
Paul Bellar and Joseph Morrison were denied bond Friday, which would have allowed for their release pending their appeals, according to Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel.
The two men were convicted and sentenced in 2022 for their role in providing support of terrorist acts, gang membership and possessing a firearm while committing a felony.
Bellar, Morrison, along with another man named Pete Musico, were arrested after authorities exposed their plot, which included targeting law enforcement officers, threatening to incite a civil war, planning to attack the Michigan Capitol and making plans to kidnap Whitmer and other government officials.
The appellate attorney appointed for the two men asked the judge overseeing their trial to release them on bond pending the results and asked him to issue an order requiring the Michigan Department of Corrections to show cause for why the two men were sent to federal prison.
The judge denied all of their requests.
"Judge Wilson found that Bellar and Morrison had not met the very high burden required of a prisoner seeking bond pending appeal who was convicted of serious crimes like providing material support for a terrorist act," according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Judge Wilson also found that Bellar's and Morrison's complaints about serving their sentences in federal prisons were not properly before him."
