UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ │ v. > Nos. 23-1014/1029 │ │ ADAM DEAN FOX (23-1014); BARRY GORDON CROFT, │ JR., (23-1029), │ Defendants-Appellants. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan at Grand Rapids. No. 1:20-cr-00183—Robert J. Jonker, District Judge.

Argued: May 2, 2024

Decided and Filed: April 1, 2025

Before: LARSEN, READLER, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Steven S. Nolder, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant in 23-1014. Timothy F. Sweeney, LAW OFFICE OF TIMOTHY F. SWEENEY, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant in 23-1029. Nils R. Kessler, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Steven S. Nolder, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant in 23-1014. Timothy F. Sweeney, LAW OFFICE OF TIMOTHY F. SWEENEY, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant in 23- 1029. Nils R. Kessler, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. Nos. 23-1014/1029 United States v. Fox, et al. Page 2

_________________

OPINION _________________

PER CURIAM. During the summer of 2020, Adam Fox and Barry Croft, Jr. hatched an elaborate plan to kidnap Michigan’s Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. A federal jury convicted both men on all charges, and the district court sentenced Fox to 192 months’ imprisonment and Croft to 235 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Defendants argue that there was insufficient evidence to convict them of the charges and that the district court erred by: (1) declining to conduct a “Remmer” hearing to allow questioning of an allegedly biased juror, pursuant to Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227 (1954); (2) limiting the defense’s time for cross- examination of a co-conspirator; and (3) limiting the scope of the admissibility of certain government informant statements. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

I.

A.

Beginning in March 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) received a tip from Dan Chappel, a member of a Michigan-based militia group known as the Wolverine Watchmen. Chappel had become concerned about the group’s shift in discussions from honing their firearms skills to killing local law enforcement officers. After talks with the FBI, Chappel agreed to become an informant and to gather information on the Wolverine Watchmen’s activities

During this same time, the FBI was also investigating a Delaware resident, Barry Croft, Jr., relating to his communications with a federal fugitive and his posting of threats to kill FBI agents on his social media accounts. According to later witness testimony, Croft had been associated with anti-government extremist views for some time. In October 2019, Croft sent a direct message through Facebook to a friend explaining that he was planning a “flash gathering in Ohio,” with the goal of evading FBI detection. (R. 838, PageID 14491–92).