Federal judge sentences Michigan man who plotted to kidnap Gov to 16 years despite feds seeking LWOP ... and thereafter give other leader 235 months

As reported in this NBC News piece, headlined "Man sentenced to 16 years for plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer," a high-profile case reached a sentencing outcome this morning in Michigan federal court. Here are some of the notable details:

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to 16 years in prison for his role in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — opting against the prosecution's bid for life behind bars.

Adam Fox, 39, was convicted in August of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and to use a weapon of mass destruction to attack Whitmer, who had drawn the ire of far-right groups for her efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 in 2020. Jurors in April failed to come to verdicts against Fox and co-defendant Barry Croft, forcing a judge to declare a mistrial before a second trial proved decisive.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker questioned whether Fox was a true "natural leader" of the plot, worthy of a life sentence.  "I don't think life is needed to achieve the important public deterrent factors," Jonker said in Grand Rapids, explaining the 192-month sentence.

While a terrorism enhancement set up Fox for a possible life term, Jonker said that harshest sentence isn’t automatic and that he had to carefully consider other factors.  Jonker said he leaned heavily on a 2018-19 Northern California case where U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, brother of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, sentenced ISIS sympathizer Amer Alhaggagi to 188 months in prison, more than 15 years short of the 33 years sought by prosecutors.

“You have to calibrate, as judges, the overall seriousness of wrongdoing and the overall seriousness of the defendant’s history," Jonker said. “I see nothing in the record ... nothing that makes me think he’s (Fox) a natural leader and nothing that makes me think he’s the kind of person that anybody involved in this group was naturally going to follow.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler had said Fox was out to spark an all-out war and needed to be put away for life. “They wanted a second Civil War or a revolution,” Kessler told the court on Tuesday.  "They wanted to ruin everything for everybody."  Kessler warned that Fox will still be a dangerous man when he someday walks free. “The problem is this defendant, he’s going to go into jail and probably emerge more radicalized than when he went in and will remain a danger to the public, your honor," the prosecutor said.

The plot was hatched in response to Whitmer's actions during the start of the pandemic in 2020 when she ordered various lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of Covid. Far-right groups blasted Whitmer, and then-President Donald Trump appeared to back that opposition in an all-caps tweet.

Defense attorney Christopher Gibbons argued on Tuesday that a life sentence would have been too much.  "That overstates the reality of the conduct that has been alleged and that was actually accomplished by Adam Fox in summer of 2020," Gibbons said.

Based on various press reports, I surmise a terrorism enhancement under the federal sentencing guidelines led to a guildeine-recommended sentencing of life, which is turn served as a key basis for federal prosecutors to advocate for an LWOP term. But it seems Judge Jonker concluded that a 16-year prison term would be "sufficient but not greater than necessary" to serve the purposes set forth by Congress in 18 USC 3553(a)(2).

UPDATE:  On Wednesday (Dec. 28), another kidnapping plot leader was sentenced by the same judge as detailed in this Fox News account:

The other co-leader convicted of conspiracy charges in the foiled plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 20 years in prison.

Barry Croft Jr., who prosecutors recommended a life sentence, learned of his punishment a day after key ally Adam Fox was sentenced to 16 years. Croft was sentenced to 19 years and seven months.

Fox, 39, and Croft, 47, were convicted on two counts of conspiracy at a trial in August. Croft also was found guilty of possessing an unregistered explosive.  The conspirators were furious over tough COVID-19 restrictions that Whitmer and officials in other states had put in place during the early months of the pandemic, as well as perceived threats to gun ownership.

Croft, a Delaware trucker, regularly wore a tri-cornered hat common during the American Revolution and had tattoos on his arms symbolizing resistance -- "Expect Us" -- as he traveled to Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan to meet with like-minded extremists, according to the Associated Press. "Although he may not have had hierarchical control over all the other participants, he coordinated and pushed the implementation of the conspiracy from its inception to its final stages," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said in a court filing....

"The abduction of the governor was only meant to be the beginning of Croft’s reign of terror," Kessler said. "He called for riots, ‘torching’ government officials in their sleep and setting off a ‘domino’ effect of violence across the country."

A key piece of evidence showed Croft, Fox and others traveled to see Whitmer's vacation home in northern Michigan, with undercover agents and informants inside the cabal. At one point, Croft told allies, "I don’t like seeing anybody get killed either. But you don’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, you know what I mean?"

Croft's attorney tried to soften his client's role. In a court filing, Joshua Blanchard said the Bear, Delaware, man did not actually have authority over others and often frustrated them because he "just kept talking." Croft was smoking 2 ounces of marijuana per week, Blanchard said. "Simply put, to the extent that the jury determined he was a participant, as they necessarily did, he was a participant to a lesser degree than others," Blanchard insisted.

Two men who pleaded guilty and testified against Fox and Croft received substantial breaks; Ty Garbin is already free after a 2 1/2-year prison term, while Kaleb Franks was given a four-year sentence.

In state court, three men recently were given lengthy sentences for assisting Fox earlier in the summer of 2020. Five more are awaiting trial in Antrim County, where Whitmer’s vacation home is located.