Photos inside Capitol show NC man clad in red, white and blue. Now he’ll face a judge.
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NC links to US Capitol riot
Federal prosecutors have charged at least 23 North Carolina residents for their suspected roles in the assault on the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
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Based on his own photographs, Johnny Leroy Harris made a fashion statement during his Jan. 6 visit inside the U.S. Capitol.
Now the Cleveland County man has to worry about what he’ll be wearing to court.
Harris, who the FBI arrested Thursday in Shelby, becomes at least the ninth North Carolinian charged with the violent breaching of the Capitol.
On Jan. 6, hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building to stop congressional certification of Trump’s loss to now President Joe Biden.
By the end of the day, five people had died, some 140 police officers had been injured, and the damage to the Capitol had run into the millions.
More than 300 arrest have been made — among them, a growing list of North Carolina residents.
On Wednesday, federal agents arrested four leaders of the right-wing Proud Boys group, including a supposed North Carolina leader, Charles Donohoe of Winston-Salem.
On Thursday, Harris was charged with the now-familiar litany of Jan. 6-related crimes: unlawfully entry; impeding government business; disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds or buildings; and unlawful parading, demonstrating or picketing.
He made his initial appearance in the federal courthouse in Charlotte before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer. Harris was ordered to report to U.S. District Court in Washington, where the Capitol violence cases are being prosecuted.
Harris’ attorney, Sam Randall of Charlotte, told the Observer by email Thursday that he could not comment about the case at this time.
Based on the photos filed by prosecutors, Harris, draped in red, white and blue, is easy to spot among the throngs of intruders milling through the Capitol on Jan. 6.
He wears an American flag sweater and a red, white and blue bandanna or mask around his neck. On his head, a Donald Trump ski cap in the same color scheme. He carries a flagpole flying a red, white and blue banner.
According to the FBI affidavit, Harris also wore a Go-Pro camera, which he used to post real-time photos of himself in the Rotunda and other parts of the Capitol.
The FBI said it learned of Harris from an anonymous tipster who reported that he knew someone who had been posting interior photos of the Capitol on his Facebook page.
When agents questioned Harris two weeks after the break-in, he admitted that he’d carried a flag and a megaphone into the Capitol, and shot video with his Go-Pro and his phone.
According to the affidavit, the FBI received additional confirmation of Harris’ identity from inside sources — two unidentified witnesses who went with Harris to Washington and picked out their travel companion from the photos they were shown.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Photos inside Capitol show NC man clad in red, white and blue. Now he’ll face a judge.."
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