Rocky River Police are investigating after U.S. Rep Max Miller contacted them about a man driving on Interstate 90 who threatened him and his family and used antisemitic slurs. Miller told News 5 in an interview that the driver of the other vehicle was using it as a "weapon."
We spoke to the congressman today about what happened, and you can watch that story tonight on News 5 at 5.
Miller, a Republican from Rocky River, called the police just after 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
According to the City of Rocky River, he told police he was driving on the highway when another motorist threatened him.
Police obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Feras S. Hamdam, of Westlake. Hamdam has since voluntarily turned himself in to the police department, the city said.
Hamdam is charged with aggravated menacing and ethnic intimidation. He's currently being held in jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond; he was also ordered to surrender his passport.
Hamdam is a doctor in Northeast Ohio.
News 5's John Kosich spoke with Miller on Friday about what happened:
"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.
He continued, "And that scared me. I’m not going to lie to anybody. You know, he was rummaging through his vehicle; I could see that he was screaming at me at the top of his lungs. What he ended up finding and what he presented to the window is that he held up his cell phone, and it had a Palestinian flag on it."
According to Miller, they slowed down to around 40-50 mph, and he rolled down his window to hear what the man 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.
Miller said he wants people to know that if they want to talk to an elected representative, there are ways to go about it, but this wasn't the way.
"I do feel that I was targeted on the freeway for being a Jewish American or a member of Congress who supports the state of Israel," he said.
Miller said he was alone in the car and didn't have his daughter or anyone else with him when the alleged road rage incident occurred.
"It actually gave me a beautiful perspective, which was that I was alone; I was able to keep calm, cool and collected, stay resilient in a very tumultuous situation, get his license plate number and hold him accountable," he said.
When asked about the rise of these types of incidents, Miller responded, "It's not only a rise in antisemitism on social media, we are now seeing people taking action to actually hurt individuals who either support the state of Israel or have the Jewish faith."
He told us that if someone is confronted in a similar situation, they should follow his example.
"The best thing anyone can do in a situation like this is, I believe, what I did. People like that want individuals like me to hide. I'm sure that individual wanted me to end the rest of my day and to go home and not finish my meetings, but I did, and that’s how I was raised, and that’s how you persevere, in my opinion," Miller said.
Following the incident, Miller went to work, and when he was finished, he signed a criminal complaint for aggravated menacing and a motion for a criminal protection order against the other driver.
Miller said he hopes his actions will help to deter other people from making reckless decisions like this.
"The biggest blessing from this is I know this is only going to make me stronger as an American, as a Jewish American, as somebody that is going to continue not just the fight against anti-semitism, but as well as Islamophobia and all forms of hate," Miller said.
The case is under investigation by local and federal authorities, including Rocky River Police, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the FBI and Capitol Police, among others.
Capitol Police issue statement
The U.S. Capitol Police gave the following statement about the incident:
After receiving notification about a threat towards a Member of Congress in Ohio, USCP Special Agents immediately deployed to the region where they worked with local and federal agencies relentlessly to locate 36-year-old Feras S. Hamdan of Ohio. He was arrested on charges of Aggravated Menacing. The investigation is still unfolding, but the USCP would like to thank our partners in this investigation for their information sharing and collaboration.
“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,” said Acting Chief Sean Gallagher. “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.”
