EXPLAINER: Charges in Michigan Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot case

By MICHAEL TARM
AP Legal Affairs Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — Jurors are deliberating at the trial of four men accused of plotting to abduct Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020, following some four weeks of testimony. The headline charge in the case is kidnapping conspiracy, which was the focal point of testimony at the trial in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prosecutors say the men plotted from June to October 2020 to abduct the Democratic governor at her second home in northern Michigan because they were furious by what they considered her overly restrictive policies during the pandemic. If convicted of the most serious charges, the defendants face maximum life prison terms.