Police Arrest Armed Senate Candidate After Hours-Long Search Near School

A North Carolina state Senate candidate was taken into custody Monday afternoon after an hours-long search that closed in on him near a private school.

Jonathan Miller, a Libertarian challenging a Democratic incumbent, posted messages to X starting Sunday night that suggested he was considering suicide. Police received calls from the public about those posts and attempted a welfare check on Monday morning. During that encounter, Miller was carrying a firearm, and officers ordered him not to touch the weapon. Miller said he backed away until he could run into the woods.

Around 9:38 a.m. Monday, Miller posted that police were pursuing him. "The whole police department is chasing me with guns drawn. This should be fun," he wrote, adding, "I've got six shots and the high ground. I hope they don't find me, but if they do it's going to be a hell of a show." Chase Oliver, the 2024 Libertarian presidential nominee, was among those who replied and urged him to surrender. At 10:04 a.m., Miller wrote that he had reached the tree line. Officers asked pedestrians and drivers to stay away from the area while they searched.

The search unfolded next to Resurrection Lutheran School, a private K-8 school that operated under a code yellow lockdown for part of Monday. Miller spoke by phone with WRAL during the standoff. He said he had posted a note about feeling depressed and suicidal the night before, that the post went viral, and that he spent the night crying. He said he made coffee the next morning, went outside for a cigarette, and encountered an officer who saw the holstered revolver on his hip. Miller said he refused an order to keep his hands away from the weapon and ran. At 1:46 p.m., he wrote on X that he had spotted officers moving in on him while he was talking with a negotiator and left the area.

Cary Police Chief Terry Sult said Miller had a warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Officers closed in on Miller around 3 p.m. and arrested him without incident. No shots were fired.

Miller faces charges of communicating threats, resisting a public officer, going armed to the terror of the people, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina told the New York Post it was aware of the situation and thanked law enforcement for pursuing a solution without violence. Miller's platform calls for weakening legal protections for police, repealing drug laws, and reducing economic regulations.