Court tosses conviction against Joseph Morrison in FBI informant-fueled Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot

The Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned the conviction of a man who was found guilty of playing a role in a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Multiple people that were charged in the plot were acquitted after arguing entrapment from the FBI in the case.

Joseph Morrison was previously convicted of providing material support for terrorism along with additional charges in the plot to kidnap Whitmer and a unanimous three-judge panel reversed the outcome on procedural grounds.

The panel determined that kidnapping does not qualify as an underlying violent felony that would lead to a terrorism conviction under Michigan law, per the AP.

Morrison, now 32, has been in prison since 2022. He originally received a minimum ten-year sentence across three counts, but it was later reduced to six years.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, responded to the ruling, denouncing it as "completely and irredeemably nonsensical, outrageous and irresponsible.” She vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Morrison faced no direct charges in connection with the abduction scheme itself but was part of a group that conducted training alongside Adam Fox, a central figure in the alleged plot who was given a 16-year federal prison sentence.

Whitmer, a Democrat, was never harmed. FBI undercover agents and informants were embedded within Fox's group for months before authorities dismantled the operation through 14 arrests in 2020. However, that later led to many defendants arguing that they had been entrapped by the FBI in the case.

The broader investigation was led to various results for prosecutors at both the state and federal levels. Five of the 14 defendants were acquitted in the case, and Morrison's conviction has now been added to the list of failed prosecution.