Daniel Harris biography: 10 things about US Marine Corps veteran from Lake Orion, Michigan

Daniel Joseph Harris is a white man from Michigan, United States. He was accused of participating in the thwarted plot to kidnap 49th Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer while the world was battling the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020.

Harris did not have any known criminal history prior to the thwarted plot to kidnap Wilmer. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. He is a resident of Lake Orion, Michigan.
2. From 2014 to June 2019, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
3. In 2019, he was a rifleman and he attained the rank of corporal E-4. His final duty assignment was at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA.
4. On July 18, 2020, he allegedly met his fellow kidnapping conspirators in Ohio, USA to discuss attacking a Michigan State Police facility.
5. He allegedly stayed away from his wife and their children during the months he and his co-conspirators planned and trained to kidnap Whitmer. On August 9, 2020, he and his co-conspirators allegedly participated in a tactical training in Munith, Michigan. When asked about kidnapping Whitmer, he allegedly suggested, “Have one person go to her house. Knock on the door and when she answers it, just cap her.”
6. On August 23, 2020, he and seven other militia group members allegedly met at his home in Lake Orion. All attendees allegedly were required to bring personal documents to confirm their identities. They allegedly discussed concerns about being infiltrated by law enforcement.
7. On September 12, 2020, he allegedly went to Luther, Michigan where he and his co-conspirators participated in a field training exercises at a property owned by Ty Garbin, also a member of the militia group. Adam Fox, one of the leaders of the group, allegedly briefed them on the plan to kidnap Whitmer. In the evening, he and two others allegedly remained in Luther while their co-conspirators conducted a nighttime surveillance of the governor’s vacation home near Elk Rapids, Antrim County, Michigan.
8. Still in Luther on September 13, 2020, he allegedly became aware of the surveillance operation his co-conspirators had conducted and he expressed regret that he had not participated in it.
9. On October 8, 2020, he, Fox, Garbin and their co-conspirators Kaleb Franks, Brandon Caserta and Barry Croft were charged with conspiracy to kidnap Whitmer in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Except Croft, they all appeared in court on the same day and requested the court appoint them attorneys. Their bond hearings were on October 13, 2020. He was represented by Parker Douglas and was booked into the Kent County Jail in Grand Rapids.
10. He was 24 years old when jurors acquitted him and Caserta on April 8, 2022.