DETROIT — In an encrypted chat, someone named Boog Daddy Bunyan wrote that their group needed to have a meeting with a new contact — that it was "real deal get s--t done mfers."
Boog Daddy Bunyan is said to be Joseph Morrison, 27, of Munith, according to the Michigan attorney general's office. The person he's talking about is said to be the federal defendant accused of leading the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year, Adam Fox, 38, of Grand Rapids.
And the message is said to be one piece of proof that Morrison and his co-defendants were willing participants, not victims of government entrapment, in their case for allegedly supporting the plot.
The Michigan attorney general's office, in a filing on Wednesday and shared with the Detroit Free Press, cited a series of messages and prior testimony as they called on Jackson Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson to deny motions by Morrison, his father-in-law, Pete Musico, 43, and Paul Bellar, 22, to have their cases dismissed because of entrapment.
Attorneys for Morrison, Musico and Bellar have all filed similar motions, saying that the men would not have associated or trained with Fox if not for the FBI and its informant prompting the interactions.
Specifically, the motions argue that the men's group, the Wolverine Watchmen, expressed reservations about Fox, that it was the FBI informant — Dan — who invited Fox to train with them, and note that Dan led trainings.
State prosecutors, in their Wednesday response, included multiple exhibits from a prior preliminary examination showing encrypted conversations. These show Morrison's reported Boog Daddy account inviting the group to Grand Rapids, where Fox lived, before saying he'd also sent a voice clip from "my contact Adam."
Bellar's reported account, Doc1776.2, says "sure" to a carpool and makes commentary about what to say, "if the FBI raids."
The state filing also says Musico excitedly discussed the meeting with Dan, saying it was about "kicking the boog off."
"Boog" is believed to stem from the term "Boogaloo," which is an idea for civil war.
The men are said to have met with Fox and kept engaging with him of their own accord, even after hearing violent commentary or plans from him — such as wanting hogtie and execute Whitmer on TV.
The state also argued the conversation used by defense attorneys to depict Dan as inviting Fox to train was misleading, as an FBI agent has testified that Dan was rehashing a conversation he, Morrison and Fox already had.
The FBI agent, when he testified in March, also said he told Dan to take on a training leadership role so no injuries would take place.
Kareem Johnson, public defender for Musico, on Wednesday confirmed he had received, but not yet had time to review, the answer the state reported to have filed.
He said he intends to file requests for more discovery that may also show entrapment that he says is available in the federal case surrounding the plot.
Attorneys for Morrison and Bellar did not immediately respond for request for comment Wednesday.
The state has called for a hearing on the entrapment allegation before the judge rules on any dismissal.
The lawyers are expected to argue the motions Nov. 17.
The three men charged in Jackson County face charges of providing material support to a terrorist act, charges connected to gang membership, and charges of carrying a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Each count is punishable by up to 20 years in prison upon conviction, except for the weapons charge punishable by two years in prison upon conviction for a first offense.
The men are three of 14 men accused in the plot in response to Whitmer's restrictions to slow the novel coronavirus. Six of the men were charged federally, eight were charged at the state level over two counties, and one of the federal defendants has already pleaded guilty.
