A $10,000 bond has been set for 36-year-old Feras S. Hamdan, a Northeast Ohio doctor allegedly involved in a road rage incident with Rep. Max Miller in June.
Hamdan pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A pretrial hearing has been set for August 11.
What happened?
Cell phone video captured by Hamdan showed him recording Miller while driving along Interstate 90.
In the video, Hamdan is heard calling Miller "racist" and saying a homophobic slur.
"This is the congressman. The piece of s--- f----- congressman that's against Palestine," Hamdan said in the video. "That's crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. This racist Jewish. He can't even look at me. He knows I'm recording him."
In a Facebook post regarding the video released last month, Hamdan's attorney stated that the video contradicts Miller's narrative of the incident because it reveals no threats, criminal conduct, or evidence to support the charges. He also said Miller's complaint was politically motivated.
The attorney said Hamdan's anger stemmed from his deep disagreement with Miller's public positions regarding Palestinian civilians and foreign policy issues.
Rocky River Police began investigating the incident the morning of June 19 when Miller contacted them about a man driving on I-90 who was threatening him and his family and used antisemitic slurs.
In an interview with News 5 back in June, Miller said Hamdan was using his vehicle as a weapon during the incident.
"Here’s where it got very dangerous, and where it got very sobering, is that it went from an individual trying to get my attention that he couldn’t, and using his vehicle as a weapon to swerve into my lane to get my attention," Miller said back in June.
Miller recounted seeing Hamdan rummage through his vehicle while screaming "at the top of his lungs," before holding his phone up to the window with a Palestinian flag on it.
According to Miller, both vehicles slowed down to around 40-50 mph, and he rolled down his window to hear what Hamdan was saying.
"He looked at me and said, 'You’re Max Miller, I know where you live; I’m going to kill you and your family,' and said, ‘Free Palestine and death to Israel,'” Miller told News 5 in June.
The Rocky River Police obtained an arrest warrant for Hamdan, who subsequently turned himself in to the police department.
Hamdan was indicted on one count of ethnic intimidation, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of aggravated menacing and one count of menacing, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
