John-Paul Miller, pastor of Solid Rock at Market Common church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 6, charged with third-degree assault, and released on a $776 bond Thursday, Nov. 7, after appearing in court.
Miller has made headlines nationally and internationally following the April death by suicide of his estranged wife, Mica. Miller’s arrest comes less than a week after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the pastor’s home for undisclosed reasons.
RELATED: FBI Raids Home of Pastor John-Paul Miller Months After Wife’s Death Ruled a Suicide
Pastor John-Paul Miller and Mica Miller’s Controversial Death
John-Paul and Mica Miller have been the headlines since April 28, when John-Paul Miller took time at the end of Sunday service to tell his congregation his wife had died by suicide. Miller said that Mica, who passed away April 27, had mental health challenges and had struggled with suicide in the past.
However, former Solid Rock congregant, Angela Clark, who was a friend of Mica’s, said Mica had filed for divorce and was attempting to get out of “an abusive marriage.” Additional troubling details emerged in the following weeks.
Miller told The Christian Post that he and Mica had married each other after committing adultery while they were each married to other people. The pastor also said his wife had “bipolar II, schizophrenic and dependent personality disorder.”
However, some friends and Mica’s own family members maintained that Mica would not have taken her own life. Mica’s sister, Sierra Francis, encouraged people not to “listen to false stories being shared about” Mica, adding “Mica was a God-fearing, joyful, loving woman who did not deserve the abuse she endured” and including the hashtag #justiceformica.
Francis later claimed that Mica had told her, “If I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not by me, it was JP (John-Paul).” Mica’s friends and family have also said Mica told them that Miller, who was 14 years her senior, groomed her when she was a minor.
Despite the speculation surrounding Mica’s death, officials have ruled that Mica did indeed die by suicide. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said its “decision was based on surveillance footage, interviews, physical evidence, and the examination of the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office.”
RELATED: SC Pastor’s Wife Died by Suicide, Says Medical Examiner
During their investigation of Mica’s death, officials found that Miller was “allegedly romantically involved” with another woman when his wife passed away. The pastor has threatened legal action against anyone who spreads allegations that he was responsible for his wife’s death, and his attorney, Russell Long, said, “Our client refutes any report that suggests he ever abused his wife.”
