Jonathan D. Miller was taken into custody Monday after live-posting through an armed standoff with police in Cary, North Carolina.
The Libertarian candidate for North Carolina’s 16th Senate District, Miller, spent hours updating social media as officers pursued him through wooded terrain outside Raleigh. He was arrested without any shots being fired, according to WRAL.
Miller’s online posts began Sunday night with suicidal statements. By Monday morning, police had arrived at his Cary apartment in response. What followed was a prolonged chase that Miller documented in real time for public consumption.
“The whole police department is chasing me with guns drawn. This should be fun,” he wrote on X after fleeing his residence.
The 16th District candidate had refused a police order regarding his holstered weapon. Miller later explained to WRAL that an officer approached him during a cigarette break, recognized him, and spotted the revolver on his hip. He said he deliberately rejected the command to keep his hands away from the firearm, then backed away and ran.
Miller’s posts grew more ominous as the manhunt intensified. He indicated he was armed and positioned defensively, writing that he “has six shots and the high ground” while officers closed in. He expressed mixed hopes about the outcome, stating he wished police would not locate him but predicting any confrontation would be “a hell of a show.”
The standoff eventually turned against him. “I f—-d up and talked to the negotiator on the phone long enough for them to box me in. They have dogs so I’m probably done for,” Miller later wrote on X.
During the ordeal, Miller contacted WRAL directly by phone and offered an extended explanation of his emotional state and decisions. He traced the episode to a night of despair that spilled into public view.
“Last night I was pretty depressed and suicidal, and I sort of put a suicide note on X, and it has gone quite viral … I spent all night crying, and angry, and upset, and depressed, and all the emotions. And this morning I was tired, but I had things I needed to do. And I didn’t kill myself,” he told the station.
He continued: “So I got up and made coffee … and while I was having a cigarette, a police officer approached me, knew my name, saw that I had a holstered revolver on my hip, so he drew his weapon and told me to keep my hands away from mine. I told him I was going to refuse that order, and I backed away slowly until I was far enough away from him to turn and run, and then I turned and ran into the woods.”
Miller describes himself as a carpenter and former small-business owner. He is currently running against a Democratic incumbent and a Republican contender in the Nov. 3 election for the suburban Raleigh district.
The incident began with Miller’s Sunday night posts indicating suicidal intent, which drew enough attention that police responded to his apartment the following morning. Rather than comply with the officer’s weapon-related instructions, he chose flight, leading to the wooded standoff that he broadcast to followers throughout its duration.
Miller faces voters in the general election this November.