JACKSON, MI (WTVB) – The Michigan Court of Appeals has overturned the three convictions of Joseph Morrison for his secondary role in the 2020 plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
In 2022, a Jackson County jury found Morrison guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts, gang membership, and felony firearm possession, resulting in a prison sentence spanning four to 20 years.
However, the appellate panel ruled that the trial judge provided flawed instructions based on an outdated statutory framework. Morrison’s defense attorneys successfully argued that because a 2006 amendment removed references to “force” from Michigan’s kidnapping law, the offense no longer meets the strict legal criteria of a “violent felony” required to sustain a state terrorism-related charge.
Because his remaining counts relied heavily on that underlying terrorism conviction, all three of his convictions were vacated.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel fiercely condemned the appellate court’s decision, promising a swift appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. Nessel characterized the ruling as “completely and irredeemably nonsensical, outrageous, and irresponsible,” asserting that it strains legal credibility, insults the intelligence of Michigan residents, and dangerously downplays violent terrorism.
In stark contrast, Morrison’s defense attorney praised the decision for delivering justice, accusing Nessel’s office of a sloppy prosecution that failed to read the current version of the state’s kidnapping statute. While Morrison’s convictions are now thrown out, the ruling does not directly affect the separate federal convictions of the plot’s primary architects.
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