Dozens of FBI agents, tents and police cars have descended upon the Indiana home of 91-year-old Don Miller, a world traveler with an amazing rare artifacts collection, due to government concerns that Miller’s collection may violate international treaties.
Miller is a popular figure in the Rush County, Indiana, community, and his collection was featured in the local newspaper. Neighbors say that he is a kind old man with a fascinating life story: He worked on the Manhattan Project and visited over 200 countries, according to WISHTV 8.
Miller claims that he acquired the items legitimately, by bartering for them. He has always been willing to show visitors his collection.
But the FBI thinks his collection might violate state and federal laws, as well as international treaties. Agents arrived at the house Wednesday, sorting through the artifacts and trying to determine how each was acquired. It is unknown whether Miller will face criminal charges.
Members of the community told local reporters that Miller is an icon and his collection a historical landmark.
“Leave that old man alone!” said Andi Essex, whose company did work on Miller’s house. “He’s done so much for people.”
Essex said she was amazed by Miller’s collection when she first saw it. She asked if she could bring her grandfather to the house to see it, and Miller enthusiastically agreed.
“He was like, ‘Oh, sure, just call me and I would love to show him through here,'” recalled Essex.
The collection includes a human skeleton and a piece of a Nazi bunker, according to Essex.