The two men accused of crafting a plan to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 returned to trial for a second time.
The jury was selected Tuesday in one of the government's highest-profile domestic terrorism case against the two extremists prosecutors say were committed to snatching Whitmer close to the November 2020 election.
The trial began four months after jurors acquitted Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, ending in mistrials for two among six suspects arrested by the FBI in October 2020, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jonker told prospective jurors the high publicity case involving a sitting governor will be more challenging than an average criminal case.
Jonker sat 18 jurors with six alternates by the end of the day Tuesday. Opening arguments would be expected to get underway Tuesday morning.
Jonker told the pool of 77 prospective jurors their views on politics and the pandemic restrictions are not disqualifying to serve.
The government alleged the plot ringleader Fox, who lived in a Grand Rapids vacuum shop basement, conspired with Croft, a trucker from Delaware, to target Whitmer and other public officials over their COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020.
Every juror questioned Tuesday said they were aware of the first kidnapping trial which ended in the acquittals of Harris and Caserta.
Fox's defense attorney Christopher Gibbons and Croft's attorney Joshua Blanchard said they may call several witness at trial, including Caserta and Harris.
Harris's attorney Julia Kelly was spotted in the hallways of the federal courthouse with a subpoena issued by defense attorneys, Kelly said.
"It's a risky move. Just because the first jury acquitted them does not mean the second one will like them at all," Matthew Schneider, the former U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan, said.
During the trial, expected to last 2-3 weeks, jurors will see a public airing of secretly recorded conversations, text messages, and social media posts.
Jurors will hear direct testimony on how several FBI agents and informants infiltrated the militia group over the seven-month period they spied on Fox and Croft.
Schneider said the government could have an advantage in the second trial, which will be shorter and more focused.
"When you have four defendants, it can be confusing to the jury to remember who said what and when. This way they will be able to isolate the two most culpable defendants and that way they will be able to streamline the case," Schneider said.
Defense attorneys have denied the men were involved in any conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer. Fox and Croft's attorneys plan to argue as they did in the first trial that the men were all talk and the government entrapped them along the way.
During the first trial, defense attorneys criticized the government's use of undercover FBI agents and confidential informants.
Several jurors expressed they couldn't be impartial due to their distrust of criminal defendants and politicians.
Niles Kessler, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, asked jurors about their impression of government and gun ownership.
Fox and Croft face charges of conspiracy to kidnap and build weapons of mass destruction. Both counts carry a maximum life sentence.