Jury clears 3 men in the last trial tied to the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

A jury in Antrim County acquitted three men Friday in the last trial connected to a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a scheme that was portrayed as an example of homegrown terrorism on the eve of the 2020 presidential election.

William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor were found not guilty of providing support for a terrorist act and a weapon charge. They were the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court. Nine others were convicted or accepted plea deals, while a total of five men were acquitted in federal and state courts.

"Today’s verdict is disappointing," Whitmer's chief of staff JoAnne Huls said in a Friday statement. "A not guilty verdict on the plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Whitmer in hopes of starting a civil war will further encourage and embolden radical extremists trying to sow discord and harm public officials or law enforcement."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement: "While today's verdicts are not what we hoped for, the successes we have achieved throughout these cases, in both state and federal courts, send a clear message that acts of domestic terrorism will not be tolerated in our state."

The Nulls and Molitor were accused of supporting leaders of the plan by participating in military-style drills and traveling to see Whitmer’s vacation home in northern Michigan. The key players, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted of a kidnapping conspiracy last year in federal court, although they are appealing their convictions.

In the latest trial, the jury heard 14 days of testimony in Antrim County, the location of Whitmer’s lakeside property, 185 miles north of the state Capitol and a conservative region that supported former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Authorities have said an attack on Whitmer began to simmer at a regional summit of anti-government extremists in Dublin, Ohio, in summer 2020. Fox, Croft and William Null were in attendance while an FBI informant also inside the gathering secretly recorded profanity-laced screeds threatening violence against public officials.

The disgust was also fueled by government-imposed restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recordings, text messages and social media posts introduced as evidence at trial.

Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, testified in their own defense, admitting they had attended gun drills and taken rides to check Whitmer’s property. But William Null said he and his brother broke away when talk turned to getting explosives. Molitor said Fox was “incredibly dumb” and wouldn’t pull off a kidnapping.

Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin urged jurors not to be swayed.

"If you help in whole or even in part, you've satisfied that element" of the crime, Rollstin said in his closing argument Wednesday. "Was he helping him to plan? Was he helping him prepare? The answer is absolutely."

Michael Null, 41, did not testify and his lawyer took the unusual step of declining to question any witnesses during the trial. Tom Siver said Michael Null did nothing wrong.

Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, said the testimony may have helped.

"It's certainly possible that the ... testimony positioned them as sympathetic or less culpable individuals in the plot," he said in an email. "However, the evidence presented at trial clearly demonstrated that the Nulls participated in militia-style training and were involved in efforts to conduct surveillance at Governor Whitmer's vacation home. The defendants admitted they were involved in the plot, which would satisfy the necessary elements of the crime for a guilty verdict."

Informants and undercover FBI agents were inside the group for months before arrests were made in October 2020. Whitmer was not physically harmed.

The Null brothers and Molitor join Daniel Harris of Lake Orion and Brandon Caserta of Canton Township in being acquitted.

Harris and Caserta spent nearly two years behind bars before a federal jury cleared them on charges of kidnapping conspiracy in April 2022.

"Best birthday gift ever," Caserta told supporters that day as relatives yelled "Happy Birthday" inside the federal courtroom in downtown Grand Rapids.

Harris also faced charges of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction; possession of an unregistered destructive device, a firearm; and possession of a semiautomatic assault rifle with a barrel less than 16 inches long that wasn’t registered to him — of which he cleared.

Nine suspects ended up getting convicted by a jury or taking plea deals.

Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks pleaded guilty in the kidnapping conspiracy and testified during the federal trial in Grand Rapids, telling jurors the plot originated with the group and that they were not entrapped by FBI agents and informants.

Garbin of Hartland Township in August 2021 was sentenced to six years in prison, the first suspect to get sentenced.

At the sentencing, Garbin apologized to his family and Whitmer for causing them such distress since his highly publicized arrest.

"I can't even begin to imagine the amount of stress and fear her family members felt due to my actions," he said. "And for that I am truly sorry."

In October 2022, Franks was sentenced to four years in prison after cooperating with the government.

"I want to start by saying I'm sorry to the governor and her family," Franks said at the sentencing. "I understand that this experience had to have been very traumatizing and difficult. I'm ashamed and embarrassed and I regret every decision I made."

Lewis, the George Washington University fellow, panned Friday's verdict.

"This is yet another instance of questionable jury verdicts in the Whitmer kidnapping plot cases, following the first federal trial which saw the bizarre hung jury verdicts of Harris and Caserta as well as the initial acquittal of Fox and Croft," Lewis said. "Despite the strength of the government's case and the relatively straightforward nature of these charges, these verdicts highlight the inherent challenges associated with prosecuting domestic terrorism cases which bleed into the mainstream political landscape."

The Detroit News contributed.