Man sentenced to almost 4 years in prison over threats to senators

A Las Vegas man was sentenced this week to almost four years in prison over antisemitic threats he made against to two senators. 

John Anthony Miller was sentenced to more than three years in prison, 46 months, followed by three years of supervised release, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday. 

One of the lawmakers he threatened was Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), The Associated Press (AP) previously confirmed. 

Miller, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a federal official and two counts of influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a family member, the DOJ said.

“The threats against these U.S. Senators and their families were vile, dehumanizing, and shameful,” Sue J. Bai, the head of the National Security Division, said in a statement. “Today’s sentence reflects the Department’s firm resolve to holding accountable those who seek to intimidate and harm our public officials. Such threats of violence have no place in our country.”

Prosecutors said that from Oct. 11-25, 2023, Miller left threatening voicemails at the offices of two senators, according to court documents. He made antisemitic threats over voicemail to Rosen’s office Oct. 19 of that year

On Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, Miller threatened to assault and murder a member of the immediate family of two senators. 

Prosecutors also said in the affidavit that Miller went to the Lloyd D. George Courthouse in Las Vegas with hopes of confronting Rosen. Miller refused to provide his identification and was denied entry by the court service officer. He became “agitated” and began shouting profanities, per court documents.

Miller’s attorney told the AP that the Las Vegas man was high on methamphetamine when he was making those threats.

“I felt the sentence was a little harsh for a nonviolent offender with a minimal criminal record, but we respect the court’s ruling and look forward to John moving forward and dealing with his addiction,” Jess Marchese, the lawyer, said to the news wire.