Feras S. Hamdan, 36, of Westlake, Ohio, was arraigned via video feed on Friday and charged with making “ethnic” threats toward Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), one of four Jewish House Republicans.
Julie Morron, operations manager for the Rocky River (Ohio) Police Department, told JNS that bond was set at $500,000 and that Hamdan was charged with aggravated menacing and ethnic intimidation.
Morron told JNS that Hamdan, who is a medical doctor, turned himself in to authorities, accompanied by his lawyer, at 10 p.m. on Thursday.
U.S. Capitol Police told JNS that its special agents deployed to the state and worked with local law enforcement to investigate and locate the suspect.
“In less than 24 hours, the U.S. Capitol Police received notification of a threat against a member of Congress, had boots on the ground, collaborated with the local police department and the suspect in the case was arrested that same evening,” stated Sean Gallagher, acting chief of the Capitol Police.
According to the incident report, which JNS viewed, the congressman called 911 at about 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. “I have somebody who cut me off, who is flipping me off, who is showing me a Palestinian flag and is yelling” and threatening “to kill me,” Miller said, per a recording JNS heard of the phone call, during which Miller provided the driver’s license plate number.
The other driver was “tailgating” Miller and “running him off the highway and stated he was going ‘to kill him and his daughter'” and “also called him a ‘dirty Jew,'” per the police report.
The report added that there were “death threats made to Miller and his family repeatedly.”
Per the report, the suspect had left the scene by the time officers arrived. Officers were also unable to find a flag, that “may have been thrown out of suspect vehicle.”
After police identified Hamdan as a suspect and obtained a warrant, they searched his car and found a “white Apple iPhone with a clear cover on it.” Officers also found several documents with his name on them and with addresses in Cleveland and Avon, Ohio.
“A search warrant will be considered for the cellular device found in the vehicle,” per the report.
Miller, who has told JNS that he aims to be the “loudest Republican Jewish voice for our people,” posted about the incident on social media on Thursday.
“As I was driving to work, some unhinged, deranged man decided to lay on his horn and run me off the road, when he couldn’t get my attention, to show me a Palestinian flag, not to mention death to Israel, death to me—that he wanted to kill me and my family,” Miller stated.
“I will not hide in the face of this blatant antisemitic violence,” Miller stated. (JNS sought comment from the congressman.)
“We know who you are, young man, and the police are going to be paying you a visit,” Miller said on Thursday. “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.”
“You have an issue? Take it to our office,” he said. “You want to run me off the road? That’s a different story.”
The Ohio state medical board lists a Dr. Feras S. Hamdan with an active license, No. 35.140087, and no board actions taken against him.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stated that “What happened to Max this morning is yet another outrageous example of unhinged rhetoric inspiring unstable people to threaten and attack elected officials who are serving their communities.”
“We must turn down the temperature in this country,” Johnson said. “The U.S. Capitol Police is engaged with local law enforcement to help handle this case and ensure justice is served.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) released a joint statement decrying the incident.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack on Congressman Max Miller and his family and are thankful they are safe,” the trio wrote. “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,” they added.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.), Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) and Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) were among the other members of Congress who expressed concern about the incident.