From start to finish, the jury repeatedly has heard about marijuana in the case of Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., who are charged with conspiring to abduct Gretchen Whitmer as part of an anti-government uprising in 2020.
Defense attorney Joshua Blanchard set the tone soon after jurors settled into the box on Aug. 10, saying Croft was “frankly high on marijuana all the time” and was described by some as a “stoner pirate kind-of whack nut” in a tri-cornered colonial hat.
This combo of images provided by the Kent County, Mich., Jail. shows Barry Croft Jr., left, and Adam Fox. Jury selection started Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in the second trial of the two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 over their disgust with restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors are putting Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. on trial again after a jury in April couldn't reach a verdict. Two co-defendants were acquitted and two more pleaded guilty earlier. (Kent County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Dan Chappel, the most important FBI informant in the case, recalled how he and Fox drove to Elk Rapids, Michigan, to scout Whitmer’s lakeside vacation home. He said Fox smoked marijuana throughout the day, even sharing with a stranger while assessing things at a Birch Lake boat launch.
Prosecutors haven’t made much of their drug habits. Mark Schweers, an undercover FBI agent who posed as a like-minded rebel, said marijuana was smoked when he met with Fox and members of a paramilitary group.
Defense attorney Joshua Blanchard set the tone soon after jurors settled into the box on Aug. 10, saying Croft was “frankly high on marijuana all the time” and was described by some as a “stoner pirate kind-of whack nut” in a tri-cornered colonial hat.
This combo of images provided by the Kent County, Mich., Jail. shows Barry Croft Jr., left, and Adam Fox. Jury selection started Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in the second trial of the two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 over their disgust with restrictions early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors are putting Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. on trial again after a jury in April couldn't reach a verdict. Two co-defendants were acquitted and two more pleaded guilty earlier. (Kent County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Dan Chappel, the most important FBI informant in the case, recalled how he and Fox drove to Elk Rapids, Michigan, to scout Whitmer’s lakeside vacation home. He said Fox smoked marijuana throughout the day, even sharing with a stranger while assessing things at a Birch Lake boat launch.
Prosecutors haven’t made much of their drug habits. Mark Schweers, an undercover FBI agent who posed as a like-minded rebel, said marijuana was smoked when he met with Fox and members of a paramilitary group.
