Two area twin brothers have been found not guilty by an Antrim County jury in the alleged plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer three years ago

William Null of Shelbyville and Michael Null of Plainwell, both 41 years old, were two of the last three of 14 men accused in the case. Eric Molitor, 39, of Cadillac, also was found not guilty.

They were charged with contributing material support to a terrorist plan, which has resulted in convictions of nine men with anti-government ideologies and militia affiliations. The charges could have resulted in up to 20 years in prison.

The 15-day trial included almost 100 hours of testimony. The jury, which began deliberating Thursday morning, issued its verdict Friday morning.

This concludes a nearly three-year story that began when Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the FBI announced the arrests of 13 men in October 2020 on suspicion of conducting a plot to kidnap Whitmer after surveilling her vacation home near Traverse City.

Nessel and spokespersons with Whitmer’s office said they were disappointed with the verdicts, but maintained the court cases showed that such acts will not be tolerated.

Authorities believed the 13 men were angry about Whitmer’s handling of the Coronavirus outbreak and they were tied to anti-government militia-style groups and activities.

Juries acquitted five defendants, convicted five and four accepted plea deals prior to trials.