Pastor husband of Mica Miller whose death captivated the nation arrested after ‘assaulting protestor outside church’
John-Paul Miller allegedly tapped his phone on a protester’s hat, leading to his arrest
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The pastor husband of Mica Miller has been arrested on assault and battery charges after a confrontation with a protester demanding justice for his dead wife, police said.
John-Paul Miller, 45, whose wife Mica Miller died by suicide on April 27 and the investigation into her death captivated the nation, was charged in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with third-degree assault and battery on Wednesday, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News.
John-Paul Miller appeared in municipal court Thursday and was released on a $776 bond, according to court records.
The incident reportedly occurred when Miller was confronted outside his former Solid Rock church on Wednesday by a "Justice for Mica" protester.
Some people have latched on to Mica’s death as something other than suicide, despite the fact it was ruled as one by a coroner and police have made no arrests in connection to her death.
On April 27, Mica made a call to 911 and asked a dispatcher if they could track her location. When the dispatcher asked why, Mica said she was about to kill herself and that she wanted her family to be able to locate her body. Earlier in the day, she was caught on security footage purchasing a gun at a pawn shop. She was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Lumber River State Park in North Carolina.
Those questioning her death have pointed to John-Paul Miller as the primary suspect and have accused him of abusing his wife. Their allegations have not been substantiated.
The FBI recently searched John-Paul Miller’s home in the Myrtle Beach area, but he has not been arrested or named as a suspect at this time. The agency has not released any further details about its investigation into John-Paul Miller.
John-Paul Miller has denied any involvement with his wife's death.
The pastor was reportedly approached and followed by a protester outside of the Solid Rock Church as vans and crews moved its equipment to a new facility.
The victim, Sandra Caron, said that John-Paul Miller came up behind and started recording. When they realized it was him, the conflict escalated. She claims she put her hands her back and the pastor tapped her baseball hat with his phone, according to local reports. His attorney claimed that protestors were trying to bait John-Paul Miller into an altercation.
John-Paul Miller’s attorney, Russel Long, told the court that "the initial aggressors are these two ladies," he said, motioning toward Caron and another protester.
Long claimed that the protesters had been stalking and harassing his client for months, and placed the blame on the city of Myrtle Beach for not doing more to stop their alleged harassment.
Protesters have gathered every Sunday since May to demand "justice for Mica" and have demanded that John-Paul Miller be arrested.
Miller eventually closed Solid Rock church and applied to start a new church — Living Water Church — in the same area.
Another member of the church was arrested for interacting with a protester in July. In that incident, a church member sprayed a protester with a sprinkler.