A North Carolina state Senate candidate was arrested Monday after an hourslong standoff with police in Cary, following social media posts in which he described feeling suicidal and appeared to threaten an armed confrontation with officers.
Jonathan D. Miller, the Libertarian nominee for a state Senate seat covering Cary and parts of western Wake County, was arrested around 3 p.m. near the Lochmere neighborhood, according to Cary Police Department. Police said no one was injured.
Police conducted a welfare check at Miller’s home around 8:26 a.m. after monitoring posts on his X account. In one post, Miller wrote that police were chasing him with guns drawn. In another, he said he had six shots and the high ground and hoped officers would not find him.
Cary Police Chief Terry Sult said officers encountered Miller carrying a firearm and ordered him not to touch it, but he ran away. The search led to an hourslong standoff near his apartment complex.
During the incident, Miller called WRAL several times, saying he had felt suicidal the previous night but decided not to take his own life. He said he ran into the woods after refusing an officer’s order and wanted to avoid being taken into custody and hospitalized.
Sult said the conversations, which police monitored with WRAL’s permission, gave officers additional insight into the situation.
Miller was taken to the Wake County Detention Center. Police initially announced charges of communicating threats, resisting officers and going armed to the terror of the people. Authorities later said he would not face a firearm-related charge after determining the weapon was an antique not covered by the relevant statutes.
Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, was among those who urged Miller on social media not to harm himself or confront police.
Miller is challenging Democratic Sen. Gale Adcock for her seat. Republican nominee Philip Hensley is also running.