Armed state Senate hopeful triggers police manhunt near grade school as alarming tweets go viral

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Police arrested a Libertarian North Carolina state Senate candidate Monday after an hours-long armed standoff near a private school, ending a tense confrontation that unfolded as the candidate posted threatening messages on social media.

Jonathan Miller, a Libertarian challenging a Democratic incumbent for a North Carolina state Senate seat, raised widespread concern Monday when he began making cryptic and viral posts on X suggesting that he was in the process of an armed pursuit with law enforcement.

“The whole police department is chasing me with guns drawn. This should be fun,” he wrote around 9:38 a.m. “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.”

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A number of individuals pleaded with Miller to lay down his arms and surrender, including 2024 Libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver. Responding to Oliver at 10:04 a.m., Miller claimed that he had “reached the tree line,” indicating that he was attempting to hide in the woods.

Responding to another user offering to send him money, Miller claimed that he “gave away all [his] money to charity” and that he didn’t “want or need yours.”

Police said they received calls from concerned members of the public after Miller posted messages Sunday night suggesting he was considering suicide. Officers attempted to check on his welfare Monday morning, and during a subsequent encounter, Miller was carrying a firearm. Police said he fled after being ordered not to touch the weapon.

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WRAL, a local NBC affiliate, managed to get Miller on the phone during his standoff with the police, where he gave his side of the story.

“Last night I was pretty depressed and suicidal, and I sort of put a suicide note on X, and it has gone quite viral,” he told WRAL during one such call. “Actually, millions of people have seen it. I usually get about 50 views on my post, but this one has gone super viral on me. 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.

“So I got up and made coffee,” Miller continued, “and I had two sips of coffee, and I went outside to have a cigarette, 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.”

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Cary Police Chief Terry Sult stated that Miller had a warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Police expressed fear that the public could be in harm’s way as a result of the standoff, urging pedestrians and motorists to avoid the surrounding area. The armed confrontation unfolded near Resurrection Lutheran School, a private K-8 school that was placed under a code yellow lockdown for part of Monday as police searched for Miller, according to local reports.

“They had some hostage negotiator type dude call me. While I was distracted talking with him on the phone they were moving in around me. Luckily I spotted one of them and took off,” Miller posted to X around 1:46 p.m.

Around 3 p.m., law enforcement officers closed in on Miller and arrested him without incident. He has been charged with communicating threats, resisting a public officer, going armed to the terror of the people and possession of a firearm by a felon. No shots were fired during the confrontation, according to police.

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina told the New York Post that it was “aware of the situation,” thanking law enforcement for “pursuing a solution without involving violence.”

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Miller is running for office on a relatively standard Libertarian platform of weakening legal protections for police, repealing drug laws and reducing economic regulations.