Attorney general wraps up Whitmer kidnapping plot hearing with undercover FBI agent

Prosecutors wrapped up their case Thursday against five men accused of materially aiding in the plot to kidnap Gov.Gretchen Whitmer after three and a half days of testimony. 

Lawyers for the five defendants did not call any witnesses.

Grand Traverse District Court Judge Michael Stepka did not make a ruling Thursday to decide if there was enough evidence for the cases to proceed to trial. 

Instead, Stepka asked prosecutors and each defense attorney to prepare a written argument for him after transcripts of the preliminary examination are completed. This will take at least 42 days, as each side has 21 days to turn in their brief. 

FBI Special Agent Henrik Impola and FBI undercover agent Mark Schweers testified for prosecutors for three and a half days, providing information against Shawn Fix of Belleville, Eric Molitor of Cadillac, Brian Higgins of Wisconsin Dells, Michael Null of Plainwell and his twin brother, William Null of Shelbyville, all of whom were charged in 2020 with providing material support for terrorism and felony firearm.

Schweers initially went undercover to connect withAdam Fox, the ringleader in the plot to kidnap Whitmer. He met the five defendants in this case later on.

Fox and co-defendant Barry Croft were convicted this month by a jury in Grand Rapids of federal conspiracy kidnapping charges, among other charges, and face life in prison. Their attorneys are expected to appeal the convictions.

Read more: 

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• Two ringleaders convicted on Whitmer kidnapping conspiracy charges

Schweers pretended to be a man from the Upper Peninsula who had a similar mindset as Fox and Croft, he testified Thursday. He did some of the group's reconnaissance of Whitmer's Elk Rapids home and passed along photos that FBI agents had taken from publicly accessible areas.  

Schweers said he attended a field training exercise in Cambria, Wisconsin, in July with Fox, Croft, Fix, the Nulls and other members of the Wolverine Watchmen militia. He described the "kill house" that had been set up to train attendees in weapons use and the homemade explosive device they tested. 

In August, he attended a gathering at Fix's home where they discussed how to kidnap Whitmer, possibly sending a bomb through the U.S. Postal Service and where the best location was to kidnap Whitmer. 

Fix gave advice on how to keep fingerprints off of potential evidence and said he had access to a helicopter they could use to transport Whitmer once they kidnapped her, Schweers said. 

The FBI agent also spoke about the reconnaissance trip a group of people, including the Nulls and Higgins, attended to scope out the Elk Rapids home during a September field training operation. 

Schweers said he and the Nulls drove together and were instructed by Fox to do general surveillance around the area, but to not go down the road she lived on.

The next day, Schweers said he was invited to a meeting where they talked about the price of explosives they had a chance to buy from "Red," who also was an undercover FBI agent. 

Schweers' testimony was brief compared with Impola's, who was on the stand for three full days. Four of the defense attorneys had just a few, brief questions for Schweers and one did not have any questions. 

The group of defense attorneys also asked for the five men to be released from the GPS tethers they are required to wear while out on bond. They pointed out that there have been no issues in the past two years since charges were filed and that the five men have attended every court date. 

Stepka did not make a decision on the tethers Thursday, saying they would reconvene for another hearing in about a week. 

kberg@detroitnews.com