United States District Court · W.D. Michigan · Case No. 1:20-cr-183

The case,
in sequence.

Every date below is drawn from filings, trial transcripts, and appellate rulings. The Michigan Court of Appeals vacated three state convictions in 2026. The Attorney General is appealing to the Michigan Supreme Court, and those three men remain incarcerated while the appeal is heard.

1. Early 2020

   The investigation begins.

   The FBI opens investigations over the kinds of memes the men shared on Facebook and their outspoken discontent with government, including law enforcement.

2. Jul. 11, 2020

   “Best thing to do is deny and accuse somebody else.”

   FBI Special Agent Henrik Impola · text message · USA v. Fox et al., ECF 383-1

3. Sept. 12, 2020

   “Yeah, we’re not killing anybody.”

   Adam Fox · recorded audio

4. Oct. 8, 2020

   Fourteen men are arrested.

   The FBI announces the arrests, saying the men were “attempting to formulate a plan to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer” and “otherwise use violence to overthrow the state government.” Thirteen are taken into custody on October 8; a fourteenth is charged within days, fourteen in all, in state and federal court.

5. Dec. 10, 2020

   “We have a saying in my office: don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

   FBI Special Agent Henrik Impola · recorded interrogation of FBI informant Steve Robeson · USA v. Fox et al., ECF 383-1

   Statements produced in defense filings (ECF 383-1) and presented in court as part of the entrapment defense.

6. Apr. 8, 2022

   Two acquittals. No verdict on two others. Acquitted

   A federal jury acquits Brandon Caserta and Daniel Harris on all counts and cannot reach a verdict on Adam Fox and Barry Croft, Jr. No one is convicted at the first trial.

7. Aug. 23, 2022

   Convictions at retrial. Convicted

   Fox and Croft are convicted at a second trial. They are later sentenced to 16 and 19½ years, respectively, and sent to USP Florence ADMAX, the federal supermax.

8. Oct. 26, 2022

   State convictions. Convicted

   Pete Musico, Paul Bellar, and Joseph Morrison are convicted in state court and sentenced to up to 20 years each.

9. Sept. 15, 2023

   Three more acquittals, the last trial. Acquitted

   In Antrim County, a jury acquits William Null, Michael Null, and Eric Molitor on all counts. Of the fourteen men charged, five have now been acquitted at trial.

10. Apr. 1, 2025

    The Sixth Circuit affirms.

    The appeals court upholds the federal convictions, while finding the trial court erred in an evidentiary ruling on informant statements and calling the error “harmless.”

11. Jun.–Jul. 2026

    Three state convictions are vacated. Vacated · Appealing

    The Michigan Court of Appeals vacates the convictions of Morrison, Musico, and Bellar, ruling the terrorism charge could not legally rest on the alleged kidnapping. The Attorney General is appealing to the Michigan Supreme Court, and the three men remain incarcerated while the appeal is heard.

12. Today

    The case is not finished.

    The men maintain they were framed. Court records show the informants were paid. Appeals continue, and the documentary is in production now.