WHOOPS

Delaware Governor Pardoned Suspect in Whitmer Kidnap Plot Last Year

Barry Croft is among six men arrested for allegedly plotting with a militia group to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Barry Croft, one of the six men accused of teaming up with a militia group to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, received a pardon last year in Delaware, The Detroit News reports. Croft, 44, was pardoned by Delaware Gov. John Carney last April for several charges dating back to the 1990s. The charges included possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, assault, and burglary. While he was also convicted of conspiracy, receiving stolen property, and disorderly conduct, the Delaware Board of Pardons recommended the pardon after he appeared before the board in December 2019. Carney then signed the pardon papers on April 4, 2019. “The charges brought in Michigan are disturbing and everyone charged in this plot should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Carney’s spokesperson told The Detroit News. “This is also another warning sign about the growing threat of violence and radicalization in our politics.”

Croft, who owns a trucking company, is now in federal custody for his role in the scheme to overthrow the government and kidnap Whitmer. One of his former high school classmates told The Daily Beast he was “deeply disturbed” by the news. “I feel terrible that so much hatred exists and was sickened to hear of the news in Michigan,” the former classmate, who requested anonymity, said. “What makes me sad is how different someone can get in almost 30 years.”