Garret Miller, who reportedly drove all the way from Texas to participate in the Capitol riots, was charged on Jan. 19 with threatening Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
He was also charged with illegally entering the Capitol, disrupting an official proceeding and disorderly conduct during the Jan. 6 riot that temporarily stopped the certification of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College results. (RELATED: ‘The Mob Was Fed Lies’: McConnell Goes After Trump, Says Capitol Riot Was ‘Provoked’ By The President)
Miller tweeted from an account that has since been suspended, “Assassinate AOC,” according to the court documents.
(Screenshot via justice.gov)
The federal government charged Miller under 18 U.S.C. 875 with “transmit[ting] in interstate or foreign commerce… threat[s] to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another.” Miller could face up to five years in prison for that charge alone.
“He has the support of his family, and a lot of the comments, as viewed in context, are really sort of misguided political hyperbole. Given the political divide these days, there is a lot of hyperbole,” Miller’s lawyer told CNN after he was charged.
More than 100 people have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot, according to the BBC. The Department of Justice and FBI are concerned about the feasibility of charging every single person who illegally entered the Capitol, according to the Washington Post.
