{"id":148892,"date":"2025-08-20T14:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldtribune.com\/?p=148892"},"modified":"2025-08-20T14:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:22:11","slug":"documentary-on-whitmer-kidnap-case-full-blown-setup-by-the-federal-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldtribune.com\/2025\/documentary-on-whitmer-kidnap-case-full-blown-setup-by-the-federal-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Documentary on Whitmer kidnap case: ‘Full-blown setup by the federal government’"},"content":{"rendered":"

by<\/em><\/span> WorldTribune<\/strong> Staff<\/em><\/span><\/span>, August 20, 2025 <\/em>Real World News<\/span><\/a>
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The so-called plot by Trump supporting militia members to kidnap Michigan Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was a “full-blown setup” that was “run by the federal government,” a documentary filmmaker says in a new interview.<\/p>\n

Christina Urso details to Revolver News<\/a> “how the case unfolded, how the FBI ran the operation from start to finish, and how the justice system turned a blind eye to serious constitutional violations.”<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI first heard about the case in October 2020,\u201d Urso recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhitmer came out smirking \u2014 not the reaction of someone just informed of a violent plot against her. It felt off, especially with Michigan being a swing state right before the election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Urso said the case reminded her of PATCON, a past FBI operation targeting right-wing groups. \u201cIt felt like the same playbook \u2014 FBI-engineered entrapment dressed up as domestic terror prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

To entrap the 14 men charged in the case, Urso said the FBI deployed at least 12 informants, 2 undercover agents, and multiple online covert employees to create fake militia groups on social media platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey paid informants, created training events, and even gave these working-class men drugs and alcohol \u2014 then used their intoxicated words as evidence,\u201d Urso said.<\/p>\n

None of the 14 men had committed violence. Most had no criminal history and were represented by underpaid or negligent public defenders. Only two out of the 14 could afford private counsel, Urso said.<\/p>\n

In April of this year, a federal appeals court upheld the convictions of two men convicted of “leading” the 2020 “plot” to kidnap Whitmer.<\/p>\n

Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty in August 2022 of conspiring to kidnap and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in connection to an effort that sought to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in northern Michigan in 2020. Federal prosecutors said the pair were part of a group that orchestrated the scheme in retaliation for her Covid restrictions early on in the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Croft, 41 and a trucker from Delaware, was additionally found guilty of possession of an unregistered destructive device and was sentenced to just over 19-and-a-half years in prison. Fox, 49 and from Grand Rapids, is serving a 16-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n

Revolver News noted that Fox\u2019s court-appointed attorney, Stephen Nolder, “submitted a weak 75-page appeal brief lacking exhibits, omitted one of the charges, and failed to consult his client. As a result, Fox missed his Supreme Court filing deadline and now has no legal representation.”<\/p>\n

While prosecutors went after Fox as the leader of the plot, Urso said the true ringleader was FBI informant Dan Chappel.<\/p>\n

Chappel infiltrated a prepping group, transformed it into a militia, assigned leadership roles, conducted tactical training, and organized events. \u201cHe taught them how to shoot and clear rooms while the FBI filmed everything,\u201d Urso said.<\/p>\n

Another informant \u2014 a felon and convicted pedophile \u2014 created the fake \u201cUnited States Patriot Three Percenters\u201d militia and named Fox as Michigan chapter head. This was later used as \u201cevidence\u201d of leadership, Urso said.<\/p>\n

FBI Special Agent Jayson Chambers, while moonlighting with a private intelligence company, arranged \u201crecon\u201d trips to Whitmer\u2019s vacation home. Informants picked up defendants, got them high, and filmed the trips, Urso said.<\/p>\n

One defendant, Eric Molitor, didn\u2019t even know the destination until they were nearly there \u2014 and was asked by Chappel to Google the address so his search could be used as \u201cevidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Urso said the FBI ran the operation like a movie set, complete with drones, mobile command centers, undercover agents with codenames, and rehearsed \u201cshoot house\u201d drills. But Urso insists: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t criminal. It was a standard militia exercise \u2014 planned, paid for, and recorded by the FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Fox and Croft, their best hope now is a presidential pardon. Three other men \u2014 Joe Morrison, Paul Bellar, and Pete Musico \u2014 were convicted at the state level in Michigan and are currently appealing. While ineligible for a presidential pardon, political pressure can be put on Whitmer and the state of Michigan to issue clemency, Urso said.<\/p>\n

Urso and her husband are producing a feature-length documentary to reveal what mainstream media won\u2019t about the Whitmer kidnap case:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe non-profit Patriot Freedom Project is one of the only groups that seems to care about these defendants. They are supporting us with our documentary project, but we need more support,\u201d says Urso. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just entrapment. It\u2019s a full-blown setup by the federal government. If they can do this to poor, patriotic Americans, they can do it to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trailer to Urso’s documentary:<\/p>\n