See video leading to John-Paul Miller’s arrest. Protesters ‘killed’ church, lawyer says
Protesters forced the closure of John-Paul Miller’s Myrtle Beach church in Market Common following intense public scrutiny after his wife committed suicide in April, his lawyer said Thursday.
Since the death of Mica Miller and subsequent accusations that John-Paul Miller abused her, protesters have gathered outside Solid Rock church on Howard Avenue every Sunday during service. They often record people going in and out of the church and shout phrases such as “You can’t hide from the FBI” and “Justice for Mica.”
John-Paul Miller has repeatedly denied abusing Mica Miller and said he had nothing to do with her death. Mica Miller committed suicide in a North Carolina state park.
“They show up to hold up signs and scream and speak into bull horns and yell and harass to the point where they basically killed the church,” said Russell Long, Miller’s lawyer, in a press conference outside the Myrtle Beach Municipal Court where Miller appeared after being arrested Wednesday. “The church has died. The church has closed down.”
Miller did not offer comment during the press conference.
On Nov. 6, John-Paul Miller was arrested for third-degree assault and battery after he allegedly tapped his phone on the brim of a protester’s hat. He was released from the Myrtle Beach Jail on a bond of $776 the following day.
Sandra Caron, the victim, said she and others were gathered across the street from the church watching as people moved things out of the church around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. She noticed John-Paul Miller standing behind them in a parking lot and approached him asking what he wanted.
John-Paul Miller started to jog away and Caron said she began to follow him and said, “Pussycat, pussycat run, run, run.” He turned around and said “What are you going to do?” twice before tapping his cell phone on her hat.
Caron believes he did that as an intimidation tactic.
“(John-Paul Miller) doesn’t have a right to touch me,” she said during the bond hearing.
Long said his client should not have turned around and engaged, but also that the city of Myrtle Beach should not allow people to “harass” John-Paul Miller the way they have. Long said he’s filed multiple restraining orders against some of the protesters, some of which have been granted.
This all happened less than a week after the FBI searched John-Paul Miller’s home. Long said he cannot share why the FBI was at Miller’s home but said they knew the search was coming and cooperated.
Miller will not be starting a new ministry, as previously thought. He filed to create a new nonprofit called Living Water Church at Market Common in October. Long said he did this because in order to dissolve Solid Rock Church there needs to be another nonprofit to take over its assets.
Going forward, Long has told Miller to stay out of the public spotlight.
“Unfortunately, the only thing that he could probably do is to hide, which is a terrible thing for a lawyer to tell his client,” Long said. “I don’t know of anything else he can do at this point.”
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 2:04 PM.
