One of the men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) was previously pardoned by Gov. John Carney (D-DE).
Court documents obtained by the News Journal show the 44-year-old Bear man, Barry Gordon Croft Jr., was pardoned last year for a list of charges dating back to the 90s, including possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, assault and burglary.
A Carney spokesperson confirmed the pardon. In a statement, he said “the charges brought in Michigan are disturbing and everyone charged in this plot should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This is also another warning sign about the growing threat of violence and radicalization in our politics.”
Carney’s pardon of Croft was recommended by the Delaware Board of Pardons and not opposed by the Delaware Department of Justice.
A DOJ spokesperson said in a statement, “the previous administration did not oppose the application, because Croft’s criminal history was more than 20 years old and it appeared to everyone involved that his offenses were in his past.”
Gov. Carney's Republican challenger in November's election, Julianne Murray, called for Carney to apologize for the pardon, adding she would "reserve judgement on if he should resign for this dereliction of duty until we have a complete investigation.“
“Fortunately, Barry Croft was thwartedby the FBI and Michigan law enforcement officers. But what if he hadn’t been,” saif Murray in a statement. “And what about the Barry Crofts who walk among us here in Delaware because of a John Carney pardon. This is inexcusable that a person with a violent criminal history like Croft’s should be pardoned."
Croft was among six people arrested and charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer from her vacation home in Western Michigan.
The group used encrypted messaging to discuss the violent overthrow of the Michigan Government.
According to the FBI, Croft discussed detonating explosive devices to divert police from the area of Whitmer’s vacation home.
If convicted, Croft could face up to life in prison.
