Nearly two years after the FBI uncovered a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the co-leader of the plot was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison by a federal judge.

Adam Fox, 39, the co-leader of the right-wing militia group The Three Percenters, plotted alongside Barry Croft to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in 2020 in response to her COVID-19 protocols. The men were convicted on charges of kidnapping conspiracy and attempts to use a weapon of mass destruction in August.

Fox will also serve five years of supervised release in addition to his 16-year sentence. He will receive a two-year credit for his time in custody since his 2020 arrest.

Croft, 46, is set to be sentenced on Wednesday. He is accused of offering bomb-making skills in anticipation of the kidnapping plot.

Fox's defense attorney, Christopher Gibbons, argued during the trial that Fox would not be able to pull off such a sophisticated plan and claimed the FBI had entrapped the defendants by planting informants and agents within each major event involving the kidnapping plot. He also claimed in the court filing that FBI informant Dan Chappel "manipulated not only Fox's sense of 'patriotism' but also his need for friendship, acceptance and male approval."

While Gibbons argued that Fox and Croft were unlikely to actually follow through with the plan, the government argued that the kidnapping plot was part of a larger goal to "set off a second American civil war, a second American Revolution, something that they call the boogaloo."

"Here in America, if you disagree with your government you have options...What you cannot do is plan or commit acts of violence," David Porter, assistant special FBI agent and head of the FBI's Western Michigan division, said outside the courthouse in August.

Whitmer said in response to the convictions: "Plots against public officials and threats to the FBI are a disturbing extension of radicalized domestic terrorism that festers in our nation, threatening the very foundation of our republic."

In October, three others involved in the conspiracy — Pete Musico, Joseph Morrison and Paul Bellar — were found guilty of gang participation, possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, and support of a terrorist act. Their sentences range from a minimum of 7-12 years with the possibility of parole.

Two others involved in the plot, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pled guilty to kidnapping conspiracy and testified against Fox and Croft.

Garbin was sentenced to 30 months in prison while Franks was sentenced to four. Five other men are awaiting trial after being charged in state court.

Michigan