Testimony is back underway this week in the trial of four men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Shotguns, pistols, and a host of explosives were presented as evidence on Tuesday (March 29) in the trial of the four men accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer.
Those weapons allegedly belonged to accused ring-leader Barry Croft. He is a self-proclaimed anti-government domestic terrorist.
Local 4 legal analyst Neil Rockind broke down what he calls an important step in the Whitmer kidnapping trial.
“When you sort of line them all up, they sound like someone is sort of amassing an arsenal,” Rockind said.
Canisters of smokeless powder were found, a gun powder that reduces the amount of smoke from gunshots. They also found canisters of exploding targets, unrestricted explosives that blow up when shot. There are law enforcement concerns that they could be used as bomb components.
Croft had a shotgun outfitted with custom tubes that concentrates a shotgun blast. Prosecutors suggest the blast could breach a door. He also had a micro-conversion kit, marketed to make a handgun into the “ultimate submachine gun.”
A sheet of code words was found, along with boogaloo movement symbols -- the movement that supports starting another revolutionary war. Defense attorneys pointed out to the jury that all those items are legal to possess.
Rockind said it’s a lot for a jury to consider.
“It has the potential to create in the jury’s mind that someone that has all of that is ready for war,” Rockind said. “The danger is that the innuendo, the speculation suggests that you were doing something wrong.”
Read: Complete Whitmer kidnapping plot coverage
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