A Las Vegas man who allegedly left antisemitic voicemail threats to kill one of Nevada’s US senators now faces a federal charge.
Police arrested 43-year-old John Anthony Miller of Las Vegas on Thursday, and he made his first court appearance Friday. Miller is charged with one count of threatening a federal official.
While the complaint does not name the US senator, the office of Jacky Rosen confirmed that she was the recipient of the threats. The Nevada Democrat’s website notes she is the third Jewish woman to sit in the Senate and describes her as an “outspoken supporter of Israel.”
“Threats against public officials should be taken seriously. Senator Rosen trusts the U.S. Attorney’s office and federal law enforcement to handle this matter,” a spokesperson for the senator’s office said in a statement.
CNN has reached out to a lawyer for Miller for comment.
The calls reference the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and come as US-based advocacy groups are reporting a spike in hate incidents against Jewish and Muslim individuals in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.
The federal complaint states that between October 11 and October 19, the senator received numerous antisemitic voicemail messages calling her slurs and threatening “to finish what Hitler started.” The caller tried to tie the senator’s support for Israel to her faith, saying, “You done picked your side b*tch and you done chose evil.”
According to the complaint, Miller left his name in one of his voicemail rants and law enforcement officials were able to link the number to the previous calls.
In addition, the complaint says that on October 18, Miller tried to get into the Las Vegas courthouse to see the senator but was refused entry. He then started walking down Las Vegas Boulevard yelling, “To kill every last Israeli terror-f**king-rist.”
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for November 13 before US Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah.
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