Whitmer spoke with Trump about pardons for kidnap conspirators

The Detroit News on Jun 4, 2025

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DETROIT — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said this week she spoke with President Donald Trump about his consideration of giving pardons to two individuals convicted in federal court of plotting to kidnap her.

During a visit to Detroit on Tuesday, the Democratic governor confirmed she and the Republican president discussed the matter. Last week, Whitmer said Trump had told her earlier this year he would not pursue pardons for Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox, who were found guilty in 2022 of participating in a conspiracy to kidnap the governor.

"I will just confirm that I have connected with the president directly on this subject and made my thoughts known," Whitmer told WWJ and other members of the media. "And beyond that, I'm not gonna share more about our conversation, but hopefully he'll take some of those things into consideration when he makes a decision."

The governor also said she thinks the impact on victims in any criminal case resulting in a jury conviction is critical.

"As a former prosecutor, as the target of this particular plot, I wanted to make sure that the president, who's going to make a decision, has all the information necessary (to make) the right decision," the governor said.

Last week, Trump told reporters at the White House the trial against Fox and Croft appeared to be "somewhat of a railroad job" and argued people say "stupid things."

"I will take a look at it. It's been brought to my attention," Trump told a Detroit News reporter who asked a question about the case in the Oval Office. The Republican president added that "a lot of people from both sides" are asking him about potential pardons for the men.

The president's comments came six days after Ed Martin Jr., the U.S. Justice Department's pardon attorney, said on "The Breana Morello Show" podcast he would take a "hard look" at pardoning the men he called "victims just like Jan. 6."

Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of 1,500 people convicted of crimes committed during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Croft, of Delaware, and Fox, of Grand Rapids, were arrested in October 2020 and convicted of conspiracy in federal court in Grand Rapids in 2022.

Federal prosecutors portrayed the two men as the leaders of a group of anti-government extremists who planned to kidnap the governor at her vacation home in northern Michigan.

Croft, who was also found guilty of a weapons charge, was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison. Fox was given 16 years behind bars.

A panel of three judges from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April affirmed the convictions of Croft and Fox, rejecting claims they'd been entrapped by the FBI and calling the crime a "textbook conspiracy."

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