Mica Miller’s Pastor Husband Arrested on Assault Charge Days After FBI Searched His Home
Mica Miller, 30, died by suicide in April. Authorities have said there's "no evidence" connecting her husband to her death
Authorities in South Carolina have arrested pastor John-Paul Miller , who has been at the center of a months-long controversy surrounding his wife Mica Miller's suicide in April, on accusations he assaulted a protester.
John-Paul, 45, was arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 6, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on an assault charge, according to Myrtle Beach Police Department's online records.
Myrtle Beach law enforcement officials responded to his church on Wednesday afternoon regarding a "possible assault," according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
During what the warrant describes as a "protest" at the church, the alleged victim approached John-Paul and stated "Here Kitty Kitty," to him, per the arrest warrant. The document did not clarify what the protest was about.
Police allege John-Paul then "got into the victims (sic) face" and began recording her before tapping the person's cap and walking away, per the affidavit.
An unspecified video from the scene reviewed by police did not show the alleged assault, they said in the affidavit.
Related: Friends Grieve Mica Miller's Death and Share Their Own Uncertainty About Pastor's Wife's Suicide (Exclusive)
One video shared with PEOPLE by John-Paul's lawyer, Russell Long, shows a woman running towards John-Paul while the person recording the video appears to taunt him: "Pussycat! Pussycat! Run, run, run!" the person filming says.
John-Paul then stops and approaches the woman in front of a car and appears to hold his phone up to her. (It's unclear if this video is the one police referenced in the affidavit.)
Then the woman is heard yelling, "Don't f- touch me!"
It's not clear if John-Paul did in fact touch the woman.
Long alleges to PEOPLE that the women recording John-Paul and making "pussycat" comments were "just baiting him and trying to coerce him."
He says while the pastor had his camera up, he didn't assault the victim.
A witness told police that John-Paul struck the victim twice. It's not clear if the witness in question was the person filming the incident and seemingly taunting the pastor.
Later in the evening, police arrested John-Paul at his home. He has since been released from custody on bond, according to Long.
Related: Local Sheriff's Office Claims FBI Has Launched 'Parallel Investigation' After Suicide of Mica Miller
John-Paul's arrest comes less than a week after the FBI searched his home , according to police, WBTW , WPDE and The Sun News previously reported.
The FBI said they were conducting a "court-authorized law enforcement activity" at the residence, per WPDE and WBTW, but it wasn't clear what that entailed.
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John-Paul came into the spotlight after his wife Mica, 30, was found dead at a state park in Robeson County, N.C., in what authorities later determined was a suicide. At the time, the couple had been separated and Mica had filed for legal separation from him.
Her death stirred speculation among friends and people who have followed the case that there may have been foul play , but authorities have maintained Mica's death was a suicide.
In May, the Robeson County Sheriff's Office told PEOPLE that the FBI was conducting a "parallel investigation" related to the case that didn't involve Mica's death.
"There's no evidence connecting him to her death," Damien McLean of the Robeson County Sheriff's Office told PEOPLE in May. "[The FBI is] investigating separate from her death. Her death has been ruled [a] suicide."
