He was acquitted on charges related to the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot. Now he’s running for sheriff

Eric Molitor, who was acquitted on charges linked to a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, is now looking to unseat an incumbent county sheriff.

A man acquitted last year on charges linked to a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is now looking to unseat an incumbent county sheriff. Eric Molitor has filed to run in the Republican primary this August against Trent Taylor, the sheriff of deep-red Wexford County in Northern Michigan. His central message, he told CNN, is ensuring “the least amount of government involvement and intrusion in our lives.” The 40-year-old from Cadillac, Michigan, describes himself as a “big political activist” and says he was considering running for township supervisor, but a conversation that he and his brother had with Taylor last month inspired him to enter the race for sheriff instead. “I walked away from there having nothing but the utmost respect for how he handled the situation because we have really tough questions for somebody running for an office, and (Taylor) did not hesitate,” he said. But Molitor said Taylor told them that he would enforce the state’s recently enacted “red flag” gun safety law, which Molitor believes to be “highly unconstitutional.” The law, signed last year by Whitmer, a Democrat, makes it easier for law enforcement authorities to seize firearms from people who are believed to be a danger to themselves or others. It was among a series of gun safety laws signed by the Michigan governor after a string of deadly mass shootings, including at Michigan State University in February 2023 that left three dead and several others wounded.