Suspect arrested in alleged antisemitic road rage incident involving Rep. Max Miller
A suspect in an alleged road rage incident involving Ohio Rep. Max Miller has turned himself in, police said, a day after the Republican congressman said he was run off the road by a man waving a Palestinian flag.
The incident, which comes amid a heightened environment of political violence, occurred Thursday morning in Rocky River, Ohio.
"The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control," Miller said Thursday on social media. "Today I was run off the road in Rocky River, and the life of me and my family was threatened by a person who proceeded to show a Palestinian flag before taking off. I have filed a police report with Capitol Police and the local police department. We know who this person is and he will face justice."
"As a Marine, a proud Jewish American and a staunch defender of Israel, I will not hide in the face of this blatant anti-Semitic violence," Miller continued.
The Rocky River Police Department said Miller reported he was driving on Interstate 90 "when the suspect threatened him and his family along with making antisemitic slurs."
Miller called 911 and reported that a man in a black Tesla was "tailgating his vehicle and attempted to run him off the road," the incident report stated. Miller also provided the license plate number, according to the report.
In a 911 call released by the Rocky River Police Department, Miller can be heard saying, "My name is Congressman Max Miller. I was just driving to work, and I was cut off by a man in a Tesla who held up a Palestinian flag to me and then rolled down his window and said that 'I'm going to cut your throat and your daughters.'"
The suspect left the area before police arrived, police said.
Miller signed a criminal complaint for aggravated menacing and a motion for a criminal protection order against the suspect -- 36-year-old Feras Hamdan of Westlake -- and a warrant was obtained for Hamdan's arrest, police said.
Hamdan voluntarily turned himself in with counsel at the Rocky River Police Department and is awaiting a court appearance, police said Friday. Attorney information for Hamdan was not immediately available.
U.S. Capitol Police said special agents were deployed and worked with local and federal agencies to arrest Hamdan.
"In less than 24 hours, the USCP received notification of a threat against a Member of Congress, had boots on the ground, collaborated with the local police department, and the suspect in the case was arrested that same evening," U.S. Capitol Police Acting Chief Sean Gallagher said in a statement. "This case is a prime example of the USCP's stance towards threats against our elected officials. We will continue to have a zero-tolerance policy."
Miller thanked local police and the U.S. Capitol Police for their assistance.
"Let's make something abundantly clear to anyone who needs to see this, which, apparently, is a lot of people," Miller said in his social media post Thursday. "If you have an issue with a legislator, your city councilman, your mayor, anyone like that. The appropriate thing to do is to reach out to them for a phone call to set up a meeting at one of our district offices. What is not okay is to assault anyone, whether you are a member of Congress or anybody else within our district when you are driving to work."
The incident remains under investigation by agencies including the Rocky River Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police, the Ohio State Patrol and the FBI.
The incident comes amid a disturbing increase in political violence nationwide and in the immediate aftermath of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband being fatally shot in their home. Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman remains in critical condition after he was shot nine times along with his wife Yvette, who was shot eight times. She has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
Elsewhere, a man accused of trespassing at the home of the Memphis, Tennessee, mayor has been charged with attempted kidnapping and stalking, according to police, who said the suspect had a Taser, gloves, rope and duct tape in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
The suspect was apprehended and charged after police investigated "suspicious activity" in Mayor Paul Young's neighborhood, the Memphis Police Department said Wednesday.
The suspect -- 25-year-old Trenton Abston -- has been charged with attempted kidnapping, stalking and aggravated criminal trespass, police said. Abston allegedly admitted to going to the mayor's home to confront him about crime in Memphis, according to the complaint affidavit, which alleged that he took "substantial steps toward the commission of a kidnapping" involving the city's mayor.
Abston is detained at the Shelby County Sheriff's Office jail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, online jail records show. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.
