► Update: Kidnap conspiracy trial jurors in Grand Rapids finished a fourth day of discussions without a verdict or questions for the judge.
The panel, which returns Friday morning, hasn't signaled how deliberations are progressing after 32 hours. A reporter at Gongwer News Service in Lansing tweets:
Another day of silence from the jury in the Whitmer kidnap plot trial as the body requested adjournment. Deliberation will continue Friday morning. It appears they are getting close, but who knows? They have asked to see physical evidence of pennies alleged to be IED shrapnel.
— Ben Solis (@bensolis1) April 7, 2022
Pennies taped to a commercial-grade firework were intended to act like shrapnel, investigators said during the trial, the Associated Press explains.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler, in his closing argument, said the explosive was created by Croft. He quoted him as saying the pennies would be so hot they could go "right through your skin."
Original article, Thursday morning:
The post-trial process is like "waiting for your first baby," federal Judge Robert Jonker told Grand Rapids jurors as they continue reviewing evidence and testimony against four men facing 10 conspiracy, weapons and bomb charges.
A fourth day of discussions began Thursday after 24 hours of deliberation this week.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are accused of conspiring to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in fall 2020, allegedly to disrupt the presidential election with a "boogaloo" civil war in Michigan and beyond. Fox, Croft and Harris also are charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Both crimes carry a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
From top, clockwise: Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Daniel Harris, Brandon Casserta (Graphic: WOOD-TV)
WWMT, a CBS affiliate in Grand Rapids, posts this coverage:
Jurors are likely weighing the key question about whether the FBI engaged in entrapment, or tricking subjects into committing crimes, according to [former U.S. Attorney Mark] Chutkow and other former federal prosecutors.
... According to Judge Robert Jonker's jury instructions, entrapment can't be used if the four suspects charged with conspiracy to kidnap were willing to carry out the plot before federal agents got involved.
"I think that's the issue they’re probably struggling with. That’s probably why you haven’t seen a verdict off the bat," Chutkow said.
The jury has six men and six women from western and northern Michigan, according to the Detroit Free Press.
