Jury gets case of 4 men charged in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot

By JOHN FLESHER and ED WHITE
Associated Press

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Jurors have heard closing arguments and will begin deliberations Monday in the trial of four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The jury decided to start fresh next week rather than begin discussing the case Friday afternoon. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler summed up the evidence on the 15th day of trial. He traced the group’s secretly recorded words as well as testimony from agents, an informant and two star witnesses who pleaded guilty. Defense attorneys put a harsher spin on the evidence. They said there was no agreement to kidnap Whitmer and that the four men were manipulated by rogue investigators.