House Democrats Vote to Condemn Republican Miller for Jan. 6 Comments
The Illinois House, on a partisan vote, condemned Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland), Thursday night, for his comments at a January 6 rally in Washington before shortly before the former Trump cited an insurrection of the U.S. Capitol. Miller’s truck was parked at the Capitol with a sticker of an antigovernmental militia group displayed. He is the husband of Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-Oakland), who was elected last November.
House Democrats voted to condemn a conservative Republican State Representative for comments made in a video before the insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol in January.
Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) is the husband of freshman Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-Oakland), and attended former President Donald Trump’s rally before the Electoral College votes were certified. Trump’s comments are considered by many to have provoked the attempted insurrection of the Capitol building.
In a livestreamed video at the conclusion of Trump’s speech, Miller made inflammatory comments.
“We are engaged in a great cultural war to see which world view will survive. Whether we will remain a free people under free market capitalism or whether they will put us under the tyranny of socialism and communism under the dangerous Democrat terrorists that are trying to destroy our country,” he said.
The Illinoize previously reported that Miller’s pickup truck, which was parked at the Capitol, displayed the logo of the “Three Percenters,” an antigovernmental militia group.
Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) sponsored the resolution condemning Miller.
“On that day, Representative Miller stood with the insurrectionists. That’s indisputable. If Representative Miller regretted his words, [was] remorseful for his actions, he hasn’t shown it. Which, I think, is the most critical element of all of this,” Morgan said. “The time has come, my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to make a choice about what it means to be a member of the General Assembly. We can disagree all day long on politics and on policy, and we will, and we shall. This is not about that, it’s about right and wrong.”
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) said the issue of Miller’s actions should be resolved with the independent Legislative Inspector General, which is investigating a complaint about Miller.
Miller said his truck was parked at the Capitol because of his wife’s parking pass and remained in the same spot all week, and said het had noting to do with the actions on January 6.
“I went to the Save America Rally at [The} Ellipse, just south of the White House. After attending the peaceful rally, I listened to all the speeches, I met with groups of constituents on the [National] Mall for photos, and then I walked back to my wife’s office,” Miller said. “Upon arriving at the Longworth [House Office] Building, the building was put on lockdown, and I was not allowed to leave the premises until after 8pm that evening. I had no part in the violent events at the Capitol that day, and I condemn any and all violence.”
(Disclosure: I worked on a primary campaign against Congresswoman Miller and had a publicized run-in with Chris Miller.)
Miller did not address the comments in his livestreamed video, nor did he apologize.
The resolution of condemnation has no formal effect, and House Democrats have so far seemed reluctant to pursue an investigation to attempt to expel Miller from the House. All of the votes for the resolution came from Democrats, while Republicans opposed it.