Fox’s attorney, Christopher Gibbons, argued that a life sentence would be excessive. Pointing out that secretive meetings with extremists and an undercover federal agent took place in the basement of a Grand Rapids-area vacuum store where Fox also lived, Gibbons claimed that Fox was anxious and depressed, smoking marijuana on a daily basis.
The judge, Robert J Jonker said a life sentence was “not necessary”.
“It’s too much,” Jonker said. “Something less than life gets the job done in this case.”
The judge added that 16 years behind bars was “still in my mind a very long time”.