An incident targeting a Republican congressman from Ohio underscores the heightened threat of violence against public officials across the nation. Rep. Max Miller said he was run off the road by a man who threatened to kill him and his family five days after a gunman assassinated a state lawmaker in Minnesota and tried to kill another.
The assault on Miller came hours before the legislator who survived in Minnesota released a statement describing the attack on his family that left him and his wife with multiple gunshot wounds.
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“We are grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you, or doesn’t like what you stand for,” the statement by state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, said. “As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully.”
‘Deranged hatred’
Miller, who is serving his second term in Congress, said he was targeted on Thursday, June 19, as he drove on Interstate 90 to his office in suburban Cleveland.
“Some unhinged, deranged man decided to lay on his horn and run me off the road when he couldn’t get my attention to show me a Palestinian flag,” Miller said in a video he posted on X. He recorded the message from behind the wheel of his car.
The man shouted, “Death to Israel, death to me, that he wanted to kill me and my family,” said Miller, who is Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel in Congress. “Thank God my daughter was not in my vehicle or anybody else at the time.”
“The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control,” Miller wrote on X.
Police arrested 36-year-old Feras S. Hamdan, a physician from Westlake, Ohio, and charged him with aggravated menacing and menacing with an ethnic intimidation specification. A judge set bond for Hamdan at $500,000. The incident remains under investigation by federal, state and local authorities, according to a statement from the police in Rocky River, Ohio.
Republicans and Democrats alike condemned the assault.
“What happened to Max this morning is yet another outrageous example of unhinged rhetoric inspiring unstable people to threaten and attack elected officials who are serving their communities,” House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on X. “We must turn down the temperature in this country.”
In a statement, House Democratic leaders said: “We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the attack on Congressman Max Miller and his family and are thankful they are safe. The rise in political violence in this country is unacceptable. This is a moment of crisis that requires Congress to act decisively in order to ensure the safety of every single Member who serves in the People’s House.”
Political violence surges
The Capitol Police investigated 9,474 threats and what the agency called “concerning statements” against members of Congress, their families and their staff in 2024 — 140% more than in 2017.
The increase follows several highly publicized instances of political violence.
In 2017, a gunman shot four people as Republicans practiced for the annual congressional baseball game. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana was severely wounded. Five years later, an intruder broke into the San Francisco home of former House Speaker and Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi and assaulted her husband, Paul. Two gunmen tried to assassinate President Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign. Earlier in 2025, an arsonist set fire to the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, as he and his family slept inside.
Police said Vance Boelter — the man charged with killing Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and with wounding John and Yvette Hoffman — had a list of dozens of potential targets, including members of Congress and state lawmakers. Most were Democrats.
The incidents have left many officials on edge.
When Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, was asked on ABC’s “The View” whether she felt safe, she was quick to answer: “Not at all.”
Crockett called for more security for elected officials, which can carry a heavy price tag. Currently, House and Senate leaders are the only members of Congress with full-time security.
Crockett also criticized Trump for the cost of his frequent golf outings and the military parade in Washington that coincided with his birthday.
“I mean, here’s the deal: I do this job, and the fact that my safety is a part of doing this job is really bad, in and of itself,” Crockett said. “But while we spend millions upon millions just so that this guy can go and golf, or while they spend $45 million for his little birthday parade — I’m just saying, can we reprioritize some of those dollars?”
‘Heartbroken’
John Hoffman, the Minnesota state senator, was shot nine times and remains in critical but stable condition in a hospital, according to KARE-TV of Minneapolis. Yvette Hoffman, who was shot eight times, was released from the hospital on Thursday, June 19.
In their statement, the Hoffmans said they were awakened by pounding on their front door about 2 a.m. Saturday, June 14. They opened the door to a man who identified himself as a police officer. The man opened fire, first wounding the senator before shooting his wife as she tried to close the door. The couple’s adult daughter, Hope, managed to close and lock the door and called 911.
“Her brave actions and quick thinking triggered the notice to public safety officials that a politically motivated act was potentially underway,” the Hoffmans’ statement said.
The couple said they are “heartbroken” over the deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman.
Now, they said, they are left to “pick up the broken pieces of our lives.”
contributed to this report.