An Ohio man was arrested after allegedly attempting to run Jewish Republican Rep. Max Miller off the road Thursday.
Miller said the man had threatened him and called him a “dirty Jew” while displaying a Palestinian flag during the road rage incident.
Feras S. Hamdan, 36, was arrested on charges of aggravated menacing after turning himself in to the Rocky River Police Department in Ohio after Miller signed a criminal complaint and requested a protective order against him, according to a press release by police.
Miller, a former Trump aide and staunch supporter of Israel, condemned the attack in a post on X, writing in the caption, “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.”
Miller said in a video that the incident had unfolded while he commuted to his office.
“This morning, 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,” he said, adding that the man proceeded to show him a Palestinian flag and said he wished “death to Israel, death to me, that he wanted to kill me and my family.”
“I have gone about my day. I have carried on my meetings, and we will not hide, and I will continue to fight against antisemitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of hate,” continued Miller. “You have an issue, take it to our office, you want to run me off the road, that’s a different story.”
The alleged assault comes amid a string of attacks against Jews and elected officials across the country. In Minnesota last weekend, State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot and State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were wounded in their homes in shootings that have been called “politically motivated” by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
In April, the home of Jewish Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was firebombed after his family hosted a Passover seder there. In recent weeks, attacks on Jewish community events in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, Colorado in which attackers allegedly yelled “free Palestine” have caused Jewish spaces across the U.S. to call for increases in their security.
In a 911 call obtained by CNN, Miller can be heard describing the incident in which the suspect allegedly called him a “dirty Jew” to the operator:
“I’m on the freeway. I have somebody who has cut me off, who is flipping me off, who is showing me a Palestinian flag and is yelling to kill me,” said Miller, who also called police to his house earlier this year during a custody dispute with his estranged wife. (An ex-girlfriend, a former White House press secretary, previously accused him of abuse.)
“I was just driving to work and I was cut off by a man in a Tesla who held up a Palestinian flag to me and then rolled down his window and said that I’m going to cut your throat and your daughter’s. And he said you’re a dirty Jew. I’m going to f–king kill you all, and I know who you are and where you live,” Miller said in the call.
Hamdan turned himself into police and is currently awaiting a court appearance, according to Rocky River Police. An investigation is ongoing, according to the United States Capitol Police.
A LinkedIn account that appeared to belong to Hamdan and was disabled on Friday indicated that he was a physician who had worked in multiple roles around the Cleveland area.
“Thankfully, @repmaxmiller is safe and was unharmed after this incident,” said Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a post on X Thursday. “Let’s be clear: this wasn’t pro-Palestinian activism. It was dangerous antisemitic harassment and intimidation.”
Greenblatt continued, “Political violence is never acceptable, and targeting a Jewish elected official and his family due to his stance on Israel does nothing to promote peace.”
Several prominent House Democrats — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar of California, condemned the attack in a post on X.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack on Congressman Max Miller and his family and are thankful they are safe,” the post read. “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.”
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