Rep. Max Miller of Ohio claimed yesterday that he was run off the road and threatened by a man who showed him a Palestinian flag before driving off. The suspect has since been charged and turned himself into police. The incident happened Thursday morning as Rep. Miller was driving to work in Ohio.
Ohio Rep. Max Miller said he was "run off the road" on Thursday in Rocky River, Ohio, by a driver who showed him a Palestinian flag and threatened him.
"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, a Republican, said in a video posted on X.
The congressman, who is Jewish, called it "blatant antisemitic violence."
Miller posted a video on X yesterday describing what happened and saying he knew the identity of the person responsible.
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
The response to this was a surprising amount of skepticism and some outright antisemitism as well.
Maybe this happened, but these types of hate-crime hoaxes are so common that you're going to face a lot of skepticism.
— John Filiss (@JohnFiliss) June 20, 2025
Maybe this happened, but these types of hate-crime hoaxes are so common that you're going to face a lot of skepticism.
— John Filiss (@JohnFiliss) June 20, 2025
Show us the police report.
— ericgrant (@ericgrant) June 20, 2025
This literally did NOT happen.
— Krystal Karas #MAGA4Palestine (@KarasKrystal) June 20, 2025
You’re jewish? Gross.
— MongoLovesFootball 🇻🇦🇺🇸 (@MongoLoveFooty) June 19, 2025
You’re jewish? Gross.
— MongoLovesFootball 🇻🇦🇺🇸 (@MongoLoveFooty) June 19, 2025
There's lots more like this, some of it coming from #FreePalestine people on the left and some from people who identify as on the right. It's hard to tell them apart except by looking at the bios.
As for the details, the Forward has more of those because it got hold of the 911 call Rep. Miller made to the police.
On the 911 call, Miller said, “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.’ ”
Obviously, "You're a dirty Jew" is not anti-Zionist, it's antisemitic." Rep. Miller also contacted the Capitol Police who handle threats against members of congress and they immediately sent officers to the area.
In a statement Friday, the Capitol Police said the department immediately deployed special agents to the area to assist in the investigation and to locate Hamdan.
“In less than 24 hours, the USCP 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,” acting Capitol Police Chief Sean Gallagher said the statement. “This case is a prime example of the USCP’s stance towards threats against our elected officials. We will continue to have a zero-tolerance policy.”
Today, police revealed the identity of the man in question who turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest:
Rocky River, Ohio, police said on Friday that Westlake, Ohio, resident Feras S. Hamdan, 36, voluntarily turned himself in after the Rocky River Municipal Court issued an arrest warrant for aggravated menacing.
Who is Feras Hamdan? Apparently he's a doctor with an interesting legal history related to his driving.
A LinkedIn profile for Feras Hamdan, with a photo matching the mugshot provided by police, says he graduated from Cleveland State University and Medical University of the Americas, in Saint Kitts and Nevis, in 2017...
Hamdan was sued in 2023 by a man who claimed that Hamdan “negligently operated his vehicle” and caused a crash by failing to yield. The case was settled last July but the terms were not disclosed in court records.
As a side note, Rep. Miller said the driver was honking at him and driving a Tesla. Teslas have a feature which records video whenever the driver of the car hits the horn. It can be turned off in software but it's at least possible this guy wound up recording part of the incident with his own car. No doubt police will be checking for video.
Despite the negative reactions above, Rep. Miller did get some sympathetic responses. House Democrats were quick to condemn the violence.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar released the following statement:
We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack on Congressman Max Miller and his family and are thankful they are safe. 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.
As was Speaker Johnson:
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.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) June 20, 2025
The U.S. Capitol Police is engaged… https://t.co/NM0ZmnxmoT
So far Hamdan is only facing one charge, which is a first degree misdemeanor. My guess is this could turn into a felony federal case for threatening a member of congress, but we'll have to wait and see.
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