Great Lakes Wire

The American Patriot Council has denounced the actions of men who have been arrested and charged with attempting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

On Thursday, federal charges were announced against Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta for conspiring to kidnap Whitmer. All of them are Michigan residents except for Croft, who is from Delaware.

Seven more men were later charged with state crimes.

Ryan D. Kelley | Submitted

Paul Bellar, 21, of Milford; Sean Fix, 38, of Belleville; Eric Molitor, 36, of Cadillac; Michael Null, 38, of Plainwell; William Null, 38, of Shelbyville, and Pete Musico, 42, and Joseph Morrison, 42, who live in Munith.

American Patriot Council Founding Father Ryan D. Kelley told Great Lakes Wire that such illegal actions have no place in the debate over the actions of Whitmer and other state officials.

“After the news of these arrests surprisingly came to our attention and since we have publicly sought for indictments against Whitmer, we wanted to reaffirm that we firmly oppose unlawful or violent actions to achieve such means,” Kelley said. “We have only advocated that the DOJ and FBI pursue the charges in a lawful manner.

“We have no affiliation with any other groups, nor will we aid or abet anyone using threats or acts of violence,” he said. “Please take note that we are on the side of law enforcement and conduct all our actions in a legal and lawful manner.”

In a release issued after the arrests were announced, the APC sought to make a clear distinction between its actions – it has called for Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel to resign and face felony charges – and the criminal behavior of the 13 men.

The American Patriot Council has laid out three reasons it ardently disagrees with state leaders in their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Case 1, the APC alleges two violations of the First Amendment as well as one each of the Fifth Amendment and the 14th Amendment.

In Case 2, the group alleges Nessel and Whitmer falsified, concealed information and facts and made fraudulent statements.

Case 3 states that Whitmer and Nessel concealed nursing home data during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group alleges.

But that is a long ways from kidnapping and other such actions, Kelley wants to stress.

“The American Patriot Council in no way condones violence as a form of political action,” the release states. “As the public is well aware, any actions taken by the American Patriot Council have been legal and lawful. While we hold the view that many public officials are guilty of a litany of crimes, and it has been our goal to hold these officials criminally responsible, we must do so lawfully.

“It has come to our attention that some other groups have allegedly plotted violence and lawlessness, so, we feel it necessary to tell our members, followers, and viewers that The American Patriot Council believes in law and order across the board and that no American citizen should be deprived of their right to due process of law.”

Kelley said he wanted to make it clear the APC is not connected with these men. He told Great Lakes Wire the only ones he had any interactions with were Michael and William Null.

“I met them at a rally this year, they were both friendly guys,” he said. “I have not had any communication with them outside of that so I don’t know them personally.”

Kelley said he thinks the whole story has yet to unfold.

“On a side note, I’m starting to see that the six arrested federally (I knew none of them) were anarchist and attended ANTIFA events,” he said. “The ‘head guy’ was living under a vacuum shop. Something seems off about this whole story ... not sure what yet.”

He pointed to a Twitter post with a video of Brandon Caserta being very anti-police.