Police arrest alleged Capitol insurrectionist in Dania Beach

DANIA BEACH — A license plate reader’s ping in Hollywood led police to a Dania Beach hotel room and an alleged insurrectionist who is facing several federal charges following the Capitol riots on Jan. 6 in Washington D.C.

The FBI arrested Richard L. Harris on March 18 at the Comfort Suites for his alleged role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol building, according to a federal detention order.

He is being held without bond in the Broward County Jail awaiting transfer by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Harris, 40, is from California but he had been living out of his car on the way to South Florida, court records stated. He was identified by several people who recognized Harris from pictures taken inside the Capitol building that were posted on the FBI website.

Harris appeared in at least 19 photographs and videos, the FBI said. One picture allegedly showed him standing next to a statue of former President Gerald Ford that had a red MAGA hat on its head and a Trump flag under the statue’s arm.

Videos allegedly showed Harris making threats in mock phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence. He is also seen confronting Capitol police warning they were outnumbered and that there was a “million of us out there,” and they were “listening to Trump” who has been accused of inciting the riot.

The FBI said the evidence showed that Harris was “on the leading edge of a group that successfully breached a manned barrier inside the Capitol building.”

Harris is facing charges that include assault, entering a restricted building, obstructing official proceedings, disorderly and disruptive conduct in the Capitol building, and resisting and impeding officers.

The assault and obstruction charges are felonies that could result in a combined maximum 28 years in prison if he is convicted.

Harris