A Wisconsin man accused of supporting a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor changed his plea to guilty Wednesday morning and is expected to cooperate with state prosecutors in their case against four other men who face trial later this year.
“I wish to plead guilty,” Brian Higgins, 54, told the judge, according to the Associated Press.
His guilty plea puts pressure on the other defendants to seek deals ahead of their high-profile state terrorism trial scheduled for August that was part of a broader case, which had mixed results in federal court but was an unqualified victory for the prosecution in another state terrorism case in Jackson.
Twins Michael and William Null, 40, of Plainwell and Shelbyville, respectively; Shawn Fix, 40, of Belleville; and Eric Molitor, 38, of Cadillac, have been charged with one count of providing material support for an act of terrorism and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Video court appearance
Higgins appeared in court by video from his Wisconsin Dells home, where he has been free on bond.
He said he attempted to provide material support for terrorism in the 2020 kidnap conspiracy.
The crime is punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
He said he drove past Whitmer’s property during a night ride that summer while others waited across a lake for his signal, the AP reported. He admitted he had a camera rigged to his pickup. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the target of the plot, was not at her northern Michigan home.
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Higgins had been scheduled to face trial later this year in Antrim County, where Whitmer’s vacation home is located.
Resistance to cooperation
Two years ago, the FBI arrested 14 men, who the feds said were involved in a far-flung kidnapping plot.
Higgins’ plea is significant a turn of events. In 2020, he sought to challenge extradition to Michigan from Wisconsin, unsuccessfully arguing that it was improper because it was signed by Whitmer, the target of the alleged plot. By this reasoning, Higgin’s lawyer said, Whitmer had a conflict of interest.
Story continues
The FBI and state law enforcement had invested months in the investigation and in trying the cases so far.
More:Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot leader Adam Fox spared life sentence, gets 16 years
Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta were acquitted last spring. Two others, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, pleaded guilty. And Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., both of whom were accused of being the ringleaders, were convicted of kidnapping conspiracy in federal court in August.
In October, three defendants — Joe Morrison, his father-in-law, Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar — were convicted of all charges in Jackson. It took the jury less than a day to find the trio guilty of providing support for a terrorist act, a 20-year felony, as members of the Wolverine Watchmen, which the jury also concluded was an illegal gang.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brian Higgins pleads guilty in Whitmer kidnap plot