Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) said someone tried to run him off the road while he was driving to work on Thursday morning and flashed a Palestinian flag at him.
Miller said he was alone in his vehicle when the incident occurred, but added that the “young man” who ran him off the road “wanted to kill me and my family.” He said the incident was reported to a local police department in Rocky River, Ohio, and to the U.S. Capitol Police.
“Let’s make something abundantly clear to anyone who needs to see this: 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,” he said in a video posted on X.
Miller was audibly and visibly angry in the video. “What is not OK is to assault anyone, whether you’re a member of Congress or anybody else within our district, while you are driving to work,” he added. He called the person “unhinged” and “deranged.”
The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control. 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… pic.twitter.com/H6JnupcRIA
— Max Miller (@MaxMillerOH) June 19, 2025
Miller said the police would be visiting the suspect. “I hope what you did this morning is worth it to you and anyone else who plans on doing this to anybody within our district, state, or country,” he concluded in the video.
The congressman, who is Jewish, said the incident did not influence his day and that he “will not hide” in the face of antisemitic incidents. “As a Marine, a proud Jewish American and a staunch defender of Israel, I will not hide in the face of this blatant antisemitic violence,” he said in a social media post.
Miller later added that he will share the finalized police report, thanked the authorities involved, and said, “Hate has no home here in OH-7!”
House Democratic leadership condemned the incident.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack on Congressman Max Miller and his family and are thankful they are safe,” House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA), said in a joint statement. “The rise in political violence in this country is unacceptable. This is a moment of crisis that requires Congress to act decisively in order to ensure the safety of every single Member who serves in the People’s House.”
Several other congressional members, Republican and Democrat, condemned the attack. “The alarming rise in antisemitism around our country and the world is disgusting. Every American must condemn this evil hatred. Thank God that Congressman Miller and his family are safe,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said in a post on X.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) called political violence a “cancer that is eating at the heart of our democracy,” and Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) said he condemned “in the strongest terms the vile attack on Congressman Max Miller.”
The incident comes after several recent incidents of political violence. In Minnesota, Democratic state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and a Democratic state senator and his spouse were injured after a gunman impersonating a police officer shot them. He was later found to have a list of targets, including politicians, in his car.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) home was torched earlier this year while his family was asleep inside, though they made it out safely. President Donald Trump saw multiple attempts on his life before he was elected, including a gunman targeting him at a Butler rally and nearly killing him in July 2024.
A man also gunned down a pair of Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C., over the Gaza war.
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Elected officials have pressed for more protection in response to the attacks.
“The violence and threats against elected officials, including people in the Senate, has drastically increased,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said after a security briefing. “That means we need more protection. We need more money.”