A board-certified cardiothoracic anesthesiologist from Southern California is facing federal charges over his alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot in support of ex-President Donald Trump.
Austin Brendlen Harris, an M.D. who runs a ketamine infusion clinic in Sherman Oaks, was captured on surveillance video inside the building, comparing Capitol police officers to Nazis, according to a federal complaint unsealed Thursday.
Harris, who was wearing a “Lions Not Sheep” cap during the attempted insurrection, was turned in by a “former friend” who spotted a Facebook post of Harris at the scene.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
“Thank you all for your concern,” Harris wrote, falsely claiming the violent siege was in fact a “false flag event” carried out by “Antifa dressed up like Trump supporters,” with a goal to bring about “even more oppression of conservatives.”
“I am safe here in DC,” wrote Harris, who in 2021 was disciplined by state medical authorities for multiple DUIs and erratic behavior at work.
“Was treating trauma patients at the capitol building.”
Harris does not yet have an attorney listed in court records, and was unable to be reached for comment on Thursday.
