Drunken horror stories emerge after Max Miller's former classmates come forward: report
A far-right Ohio lawmaker accused of horrific domestic violence has a troubled past dating back to his time in school.
A new CNN investigation, drawing on interviews with more than half a dozen former classmates and acquaintances, describes the Ohio Republican as someone who's struggled with volatile outbursts and aggressive, insulting behavior since his youth, often while intoxicated. The report adds fresh context to a mounting pile of accusations against Miller, now facing claims of abuse from three separate women, including his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, an ex-girlfriend, and a woman who says he pushed her down some stairs.
One classmate who came forward was River McWilliams, who called him “hotheaded.” "As a high school athlete, he said, Miller could throw tantrums typical of a teen player — such as slamming his helmet to the ground after a bad at-bat," said the report — and he was even worse when he was drinking at parties, where he "would be quick to kind of like start fights and instigate stuff… He was that kid.”
According to another classmate, Blair Kurit, “I don’t really think he was friends with any women. He was belligerent ... and definitely misogynistic back then.” She added that one time at a party, he “said he was going to join the Army, so he could ‘shoot some Arabs.’”
Police body-camera footage obtained by CNN shows Emily Moreno, his ex-wife, emotionally describing an incident in which she says Miller held a gun to her head. She was separately interviewed by police investigating their daughter's broken collarbone, though no charges were filed and there are currently no open investigations into either parent.
In a recent combative 26-minute sit-down with CNN's Jake Tapper, Miller doubled down, insisting all three accusers are lying and that Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders remain firmly behind him.
Miller refused to suspend his campaign before the ballot deadline, leaving Republicans with no way to replace him. Recent polling has shown that his normally very Republican district around exurban Cleveland could tip to Democrats in light of his scandals.