LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On Monday, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the convictions of two men tied to the 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The ruling for Pete Musico and Paul Bellar follows a decision earlier this summer by a different Court of Appeals panel that reversed the conviction of co-defendant Joseph Morrison.
Musico, Bellar, and Morrison were convicted in state court on charges related to the alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer, while several other defendants were prosecuted separately in federal court.
In that earlier ruling, the panel overturned Morrison’s convictions after finding that kidnapping is “not a violent felony” under Michigan law.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced plans to appeal the earlier ruling. She called the decision “linguistic gymnastics.”
Nessel stated, “It is clear that all three of these defendants engaged in a coordinated plan to kidnap and harm the governor and cause mayhem and destruction across our communities in the process. My office will not downplay domestic terrorism and will not stand by while criminal statutes meant to preserve public safety are arbitrarily gutted.”
Lawyers for the defendants argued the plot was pushed by FBI informants who infiltrated the men’s group.
https://www.michigannewssource.com/2026/07/michigan-appeals-court-reverses-convictions-of-two-men-in-whitmer-kidnapping-plot/