Man Receives Nearly 20 Years in Prison for Plot to Kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Since Mr. Croft and his co-defendants were arrested more than two years ago, during the tense run-up to the 2020 presidential election, the case has been seen by many as an example of the rising threat of right-wing domestic terrorism. Those concerns became more tangible a few months after the arrests, when supporters of Donald J. Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and tried to block the certification of that election.

When Mr. Croft was convicted this August of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, Ms. Whitmer released a statement calling for “a hard look at the status of our politics.”

“Plots against public officials and threats to the F.B.I. are a disturbing extension of radicalized domestic terrorism that festers in our nation,” she said at the time, “threatening the very foundation of our republic.”

Undercover agents and informants recorded Mr. Croft speaking about a desire to overthrow the government and to harm elected officials, and they accompanied him on a nighttime scouting mission to the governor’s vacation cottage in northern Michigan. Mr. Croft also attended training sessions with high-powered rifles and, prosecutors said, planned to blow up a bridge to prevent police officers from reaching the scene of the abduction.

Mr. Croft “wanted to do more than kidnap the governor of Michigan, or even kill her,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memo. “He said, ‘I can’t wait for war to come to this land,’ and meant it. Only a life sentence can adequately address Croft’s crimes and deter him and others from pursuing such apocalyptic visions for our country.”

At the hearing, Mr. Croft, who was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of his waist, told the judge he did not want to say anything before being sentenced. His lawyer, Mr. Blanchard, said after the hearing that his client would appeal.

The Justice Department vowed this week to continue prosecuting domestic terror cases, and Judge Jonker said he believed that federal law enforcement should be praised for how agents had investigated the plot against the governor.