DETROIT — A Waterford Township man convicted of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer deserves a "substantial" federal prison sentence to deter rising threats from domestic extremists bent on achieving political change through violence, prosecutors said Thursday.
But prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to consider Kaleb Franks pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government, testifying against two ringleaders during two trials this year. Advisory guidelines call for as long as 15 1/2 years in prison.
Franks, 28, will be sentenced Oct. 6, two months after he helped secure the convictions of kidnap plot ringleaders Adam Fox, 39, and Barry Croft, 46, who face up to life in federal prison. Two others, Lake Orion resident Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta of Canton Township, were acquitted on kidnapping conspiracy charges.
The trials represented the largest domestic terrorism case in a generation that has shed light on political extremism in Michigan and beyond. Franks was convicted of being part of a broader group of people who were angered by pandemic restrictions and hoped to spark a second Civil War.
"The trial evidence, including Franks' testimony, established that Croft and Fox actually intended to murder the Governor in order to trigger a civil war," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "The sentence should reflect the gravity of the offense, and also Franks' part in bringing the conspirators to justice."
Kessler did not request a specific sentence.
"The proceedings here have been closely watched and extensively discussed by domestic extremists, and Franks' sentence will be too," the assistant U.S. attorney wrote. "It should send a strong message that attempts to achieve political change through violence will result in serious consequences."
Franks' lawyer is expected to file a separate sentencing memo soon.
Franks is the second person convicted in the plot to face sentencing. Earlier this month, Jonker reduced the 75-month sentence of plotter Ty Garbin to 30 months, crediting the Hartland Township man for ongoing cooperation that helped convict the two ringleaders.
"Self-styled 'militia' activists were once dismissed as eccentric, but essentially harmless, actors," the prosecutor wrote Thursday. "This case was in a sense the 'canary in the coal mine' presaging a turn toward real violence."
The prosecutor drew a distinction between Franks and the ringleaders.
"Franks did not plead guilty as early in the process as co-defendant Ty Garbin," Kessler wrote. "On the other hand, Franks was not a leader in either the Wolverine Watchmen (militia) or the Croft/Fox kidnapping plot.
"Franks' decision to accept responsibility and testify showed more maturity than the older men who led him," the prosecutor added.
