Doctor accused of threatening to kill Jewish Rep. Max Miller deleted recording of incident, prosecutors say
Feras Hamdan was indicted on felony charges of ethnic intimidation and tampering with evidence
Max Miller speaks at a Trump rally in 2021. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
By Hannah Feuer July 9, 2025
The suspect who allegedly ran Ohio Rep. Max Miller off the road, threatened to kill him and his daughter, and said “F— Jews” was indicted by a grand jury, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday.
Feras Hamdan, a 36-year-old Cleveland-area doctor, was indicted on charges of ethnic intimidation, aggravated menacing, menacing, and tampering with evidence. An investigation showed Hamdan recorded part of the interaction with Miller on his cell phone, sent it to other people, and then deleted it, prosecutors said.
Police found an iPhone in Hamdan’s car when they searched his vehicle, according to the incident report. At Hamdan’s arraignment last month, his lawyer said he should not have to surrender the phone, arguing it was a violation of Hamdan’s First and Fourth amendment rights. Prosecutors said authorities were working to obtain the phone and anyone who tampered with it would face serious felony charges, Cleveland 19 News reported.
During the road rage incident on June 19 that led to Hamdan’s arrest, Hamdan honked his horn and swerved into Miller while he was driving on the highway, prosecutors said. Hamdan then allegedly drove next to Miller and began shouting threats and antisemitic slurs, according to the incident report.
Miller exited the highway and called 911. In a recording of the call obtained by the Forward, Miller told the operator that he was “cut off by a man in a Tesla who held up a Palestinian flag to me and then rolled down his window and said that, ‘I’m going to cut your throat and your daughter’s.’ And he said, ‘You’re a dirty Jew.’”
“Threatening behavior toward an elected official and their family is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Prosecutor Michael O’Malley wrote in a statement. “This type of mindless behavior is happening all too frequently in our country and it must come to an end.”
Miller, a Jewish Republican and former Trump aide, posted to X calling the incident “blatant antisemitic violence.”
Hamdan was arrested after turning himself in at the Rocky River Police Department. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“It is reprehensible that Congressman Max Miller would exploit Dr. Hamdan’s good name as a political pawn to score political points and fabricate a narrative of false victimhood,” Issa Elkhatib, the lawyer representing Hamdan, wrote in a statement. “We urge the public and the press to see through these accusations and to respect Dr. Hamdan’s right to due process and the presumption of innocence.”
“Congressman Miller should be ashamed of himself for stooping to this level,” he added.
Hamdan has an active medical license and has never been disciplined by the State Medical Board of Ohio, board spokesperson Jerica Kent wrote in an email. His most recent license renewal application indicated he was working in family medicine for Health Express Urgent Care in suburban Cleveland.
