2 charged in Michigan plots served in US Marines

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Jackson County Sheriff’s Office

This photo provided by the Jackson County Sheriffs Office shows Joseph Morrison. Agents foiled a stunning plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, authorities said Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020 in announcing charges in an alleged scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home. According to an FBI affidavit, Morrison is one of the founding members of the Wolverine Watchmen, which authorities described as an anti-government, anti-law enforcement militia group. (Jackson County Sheriffs Office via AP)

DETROIT – The U.S. Marine Corps confirmed Saturday that two men charged in plots against Michigan's government spent time in the military.

Officials are “aware of the circumstances surrounding” Daniel Harris and Joseph Morrison and will assist in any way in the investigation, the Marine Corps said in an emailed statement.

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Harris is one of six men charged federally with conspiring to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before the Nov. 3 elections. Morrison, 26, is one of seven men charged under the state's anti-terrorism law for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and ignite a “civil war.” Authorities say he was a founding member of the “anti-government, anti-law enforcement” Wolverine Watchmen.

Harris’s military file shows he was a rifleman, serving from 2014 until last year. He attained the rank of corporal E-4 in 2019 and his final duty assignment was at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Morrison was a lance corporal and served in the Marine Corps Reserve from 2015 until Thursday, the day he was arraigned on state charges. The Marine Corps said his departure from the reserves is “unrelated to (his) current situation.”

Morrison’s last assignment was with the 4th Marine Logistics Group in Battle Creek, Michigan.


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