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

Daniel Joseph Harris is an American man from Lake Orion, Oakland County, Michigan, United States. He is a former U.S. Marine Corps rifleman and corporal.

BIOGRAPHY

Amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Harris was accused of participating in the thwarted plot to kidnap 49th Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. He did not have any known criminal history prior to the allegation.

Harris is married. Here are 10 more things about him:

1. He has children.
2. He was linked to a paramilitary militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen.
3. He is 27 years younger than Whitmer.
4. He was born in 1997.
5. His final U.S. Marine Corps duty assignment was at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA.
6. From 2015 to 2019, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
7. In June 2015, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
8. In June 2019, he left the U.S. Marine Corps as a corporal.
9. He allegedly stayed away from his wife and their children during the months he and his co-conspirators planned and trained to kidnap Whitmer in 2020.
10. In 2022, he was acquitted of charges related to the plan to kidnap Whitmer.

TIMELINE

In 2020, Harris was arrested and booked into the Kent County Jail in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was represented by Parker Douglas and Julia Kelly.

2020

• On July 18, 2020, he allegedly met his fellow kidnapping conspirators in Ohio, USA to discuss attacking a Michigan State Police facility.
• 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.”
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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. 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.

2021

• On April 28, 2021, a federal grand jury in Michigan returned a superseding indictment charging him with knowingly conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property.

2022

• On April 8, 2022, jurors acquitted him and Caserta.