Barry Croft did not recruit, lead or control men convicted of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and does not deserve to spend the rest of his life in federal prison, his lawyer wrote in a court filing late Thursday.
There was no actual plan and Croft, the national leader of the Three Percenters, a far-right, anti-government militia group, did not attempt to blow up a bridge with explosives and should not face a longer than necessary prison sentence, defense lawyer Josh Blanchard wrote.
The court filing provided a humanized view of the Delaware trucker and father of three girls compared to the portrait presented during trial of Croft as a "stoned crazy pirate," a bombmaker and extremist bent on inciting a second Civil War who was captured on secret FBI recordings talking about fantastical ways to attack law enforcement.
"A considered view of Mr. Croft's 47 years of life discloses that he has suffered from significant substance abuse issues, has likely self-medicated an untreated mental health issue, has engaged in poor decision making, has suffered some serious setbacks and is someone who was without the appropriate tools to be productive," Blanchard wrote. "However, Mr. Croft's life shows that he is not a lost cause and, if equipped with the right tools, can return to live a productive law-abiding life."
The sentencing recommendation was filed hours after prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to sentence Croft to life along with co-defendant Adam Fox of Potterville. Fox will be sentenced Dec. 27 in federal court in Grand Rapids; Croft one day later.
Croft and Fox were portrayed as ringleaders of a scheme that represented the largest domestic terrorism case in a generation and has shed light on political extremism in Michigan.
Jurors convicted them of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction in August after a first trial ended with a hung jury and the acquittals of two codefendants. Croft also was convicted of possessing an unregistered destructive device, a 10-year felony.
The convictions followed months of criticism from defense lawyers about FBI agent misconduct and claims that a team of FBI agents and informants orchestrated the conspiracy. The government team was accused of entrapping Fox, Croft and others who were portrayed as a ragtag band of social outcasts who harbored antigovernment views.
Two accused kidnap plotters, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, were acquitted during a first trial earlier this year.
The sentencing recommendation Thursday came hours after a state court judge sentenced three men to a minimum of seven to 12 years in prison for providing material aid to terrorists and being members of the kidnap plot.
So far, seven people have been convicted on state or federal charges related to the plot while an eighth individual, FBI informant Stephen Robeson, was convicted of a federal gun crime.
Croft was raised by parents with mental health issues, Blanchard wrote. Croft's father was described as an "odd duck" who put "aluminum foil on the ceiling of his bedroom so aliens cannot access his brain waves" while his mother is portrayed as someone "prone to conspiracy theories."
As a teen, Croft was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, ran away from home and developed a heroin addiction, his lawyer wrote. He was convicted of several crimes dating to the mid-1990s, including possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, assault and burglary — he received a pardon from the Delaware governor in 2019 — but the kidnapping case marked Croft's first contact with federal law enforcement, Blanchard wrote.
The lawyer described Croft as a supporting father with primary custody of three daughters. During trial, prosecutors played a secret FBI recording of Croft talking to a daughter during a training event in Cambria, Wisconsin, in July 2020.
"While the government makes much of Mr. Croft taking his daughters to the Cambria event and telling his daughter to step away when he was making 'explosives,' he loves his children very much, worked hard to be involved in their lives and tried to provide the love his father was incapable of providing to him," Blanchard wrote.
The lawyer distinguished Croft from other defendants charged in the case.
"It is also worth noting that Mr. Croft did not supply funding to the group, he did not provide training to the group, he was not involved in most of the (field training exercises), nor was he involved in the encrypted chat conversations," Blanchard wrote. "Simply put, to the extent that the jury determined he was a participant, as they necessarily did, he was a participant to a lesser degree than others.
"The advisory guideline range here calls for Mr. Croft to spend the rest of his life in prison," Blanchard added. "That is simply longer than is necessary to effect specific or general deterrence."
