Husband of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller condemned by state House for Jan. 6 comments
Illinois House Democrats adopted a resolution Thursday night to condemn Republican state Rep. Chris Miller for remarks he videotaped at the Donald Trump rally on Jan. 6, just prior to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol building. Miller is the husband of 15th District congresswoman Mary Miller, whose district takes in part of southern Illinois.
The resolution also condemns Chris Miller for displaying the insignia of an extremist militia group, The Three Percenters, on his truck.
State Rep. Bob Morgan, a Deerfield Democrat, read the statement Miller made in a Facebook Live post on Jan. 6 at the rally.
Miller said, "I think it's important to know we are engaged in a great cultural war to see which worldview will survive, whether we will remain a free people under free market capitalism or whether they will put us under the tyranny of socialism, communism and the dangerous Democrat terrorists that are trying to destroy our country."
Miller has since removed the video from his page.
The Millers live in Oakland, which is southeast of Champaign in Coles County. Chris Miller defended his presence at the Jan. 6 rally and denied taking any part in the violent storming of the Capitol the following day.
Miller said he was in lockdown with his wife in a Capitol office building while the riots occurred until 8 p.m. that evening.
"I condemn any and all violence. I can assure you that my dedication to the safety and security of our state and our country's citizens is second to none. We may disagree on policy, but at the end of the day, all of our commitments to our constituents is making Illinois a better place, and all these ideals are one in the same," Miller said on the House floor.
He did not comment on the Three Percenters decal while on the House floor, but Miller has denied being a member of the group and said he has removed the sticker from his truck.
The resolution was adopted, 57-36, almost entirely along partisan lines, with several members voting present or not voting at all. Only one Democrat, state Rep. Mark Walker of Arlington Heights, crossed party lines to vote against the resolution.
Morgan also filed a complaint with Illinois Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope, calling on her office to investigate Miller's actions on Jan. 6, and saying Miller "stood with the insurrectionists."
Republican House Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, said the condemnation of Chris Miller is premature because Pope's investigation is not complete.
Meanwhile, a day before the insurrection at the Capitol, Mary Miller quoted Adolf Hitler at a rally hosted by Moms for America, a right-wing group which campaigns to "reclaim our culture for truth, family and freedom."
She told the crowd, "Hitler was right on one thing, 'Whoever has the youth has the future.' Our children are being propagandized."
Mary Miller later apologized for quoting Hitler.