In an unusual move, attorneys for the five men charged in federal court in the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have filed a motion requesting the court admit hearsay evidence they believe will bolster their defense of FBI entrapment.

Typically, hearsay evidence is considered inadmissible and cannot be presented.

The motion includes a list of texts, audio recordings and other communications the defense is requesting the court to admit into evidence.

The government has previously said the five men conspired to kidnap Whitmer, even scouting her second home in northern Michigan.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, in court documents, argued the men were predisposed to commit the crime.
Authorities say the suspects were angry about executive orders Whitmer, a Democrat, had issued to mitigate the spread of coronavirus because they believed she was overstepping her authority.

The men have pleaded not guilty. A sixth man, Ty Garbin, pleaded guilty and was recently sentenced to slightly more than six years in prison.