The controversial South Carolina pastor who came under national scrutiny following his wife Mica Miller’s apparent suicide was arrested on assault charges just days after an FBI raid at his home.
John-Paul Miller, 45, was charged with third-degree assault and battery following a confrontation with a “Justice for Mica” protester outside his Myrtle Beach church on Wednesday, according to WBTW.
The embattled pastor spent the night in jail and was given a $776 bond during a 20-minute hearing Thursday morning.
He is scheduled to be back in court on the afternoon of Dec. 10.
The incident that led up to Miller’s arrest is still under investigation, but WBTW news crews captured footage of Miller seemingly having it out with a woman protesting at his church.
Miller has been the target of protests since his estranged wife, Mica Miller, died by suicide in April.
“What did you say? You walked right up to me,” Miller demanded of the woman in the video of the confrontation, which happened Wednesday.
He was then seen gesturing at the woman, who claimed that he put his hands on her.
The heated exchange came one day after Miller’s church, Solid Rock, was emptied out and even had its website and phone number disconnected, WBTW news noted.
Both Miller and a church adviser declined to comment to local media.
Last week, the FBI executed a search warrant at Miller’s home.
Miller’s lawyer claimed he had “no idea” what the search was related to, though the pastor has been the center of controversy since his wife’s death.
Mica Miller, 30, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at North Carolina’s Lumber River State Park on April 27, a couple days after she served her husband with divorce papers.
She was reportedly heard crying for several minutes before she took her own life.
In the months since her death, Mica’s relatives have begged law enforcement to “deeply” investigate the case and allegations that Miller had abused her.
Mica had accused Miller of slashing her tires, installing a tracking device on her car, hospitalized her against her will – and “grooming” her beginning when she was just 10 years old.
John-Paul Miller made further headlines when he announced Mica’s death casually during a sermon at Solid Rock.
“I got a call late last night, my wife has passed away. It was self-induced and it was up in North Carolina,” he told the congregation.
He later claimed that Mica suffered from mental illness and had been hospitalized multiple times in the past – while insisting that he tried to “raise her from the dead.”
Miller denied all the accusations of abuse and involvement in his wife’s death.
News of Mica’s death and the allegations against Miller divided the Solid Rock community, and the rifts grew deeper once the FBI launched an investigation into the situation.
When the probe was opened in May, Damien McLean of the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office clarified that the investigation was “separate from (Mica’s) death.”
The FBI removed several items from Miller’s home during the search last week, including some computer equipment, WBTW said.
Both the Solid Rock church and Miller’s house are part of a $5.59 million real estate portfolio managed by Solid Rock Ministries, the outlet reported.
It was not immediately clear if Solid Rock was relocating after clearing out of its Myrtle Beach location.
Last month, Miller was named as a registered agency for another entity, “Living Water Church at Market Common Inc.”
