Jury selection starts in 3rd trial tied to Gov. Whitmer plot

By ED WHITE
Associated Press

JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — Jury selection is underway in a third trial connected to a 2020 anti-government plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Dozens of potential jurors are packed into the courtroom in Jackson, Michigan. Joe Morrison, Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar are charged with three crimes, including providing material support for terrorist acts. All were members of the Wolverine Watchmen, a paramilitary group that trained in the Jackson area. They’re accused of assisting others who were convicted in federal court of conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home. Lawyers and the judge have been asking questions to weed out biases in the jury pool, ranging from news consumption to the personal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trial could last two to three weeks.