FILE - Cars line the main stretch of Virginia City, Nev., that attracts tens of thousands of tourists. (AP Photo/Gabe Stern, File)
Three people involved in a viral confrontation with a Black man named Ricky Johnson collected mugshots in Virginia City, Nevada, this week. Local officials arrested Gary, Janis, and Tiffany Miller on Wednesday (August 8), per The Associated Press.
Prosecutors have charged each of the Millers after a verbal stand-off on August 2 that began with Gary Miller seemingly threatening Johnson with a “hanging tree” — a reference to a form of lynching.
The Storey County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Johnson and others involved after Ricky’s video went viral. The agency then turned over evidence to the district attorney.
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office reportedly issued a news release saying Gary Miller, Janis Miller, and Tiffany Miller had been arrested and booked into jail.
Gary was charged with breach of peace, a gross misdemeanor that includes making threatening comments based on race. Meanwhile, one of the women was charged with battery and the other with interfering with a peace officer, both misdemeanors.
Nevada’s Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Black man, also spoke on the arrests.
“The public outcry was heard loud and clear, and steps have been taken to hold these individuals accountable for their racist and unlawful actions,” Ford said, per AP.
This is Ford’s second time addressing the Virginia City incident. He initially condemned the Millers’ behavior in a statement in which he offered the local sheriff’s office his “support” with the investigation into the confrontation.
As previously reported, the incident occurred when Ricky Johnson was collecting signatures for a ballot measure during the popular Hot August Nights classic car festival in Virginia City.
Johnson began videoing after Gary Miller directed the alleged racist comments at him. In the viral clip, Johnson demands that the man repeat the words on video. We must note that at no point does Miller do so while being videoed. Additionally, while he heckled Ricky, Gary did not directly use any racial slurs.
“And where the tree to hang people at? Where its at? Where is the hanging tree at?” Ricky Johnson asked Gary Miller, who responded, “In your backyard.”
Ricky began to get emotional as he attempted to get surrounding white folks to check Gary Miller for his racist comments. One woman seemingly tried to intervene, while Gary called Johnson a “crying motherf**ker.”
A loud, profanity-filled argument on both sides followed. Johnson challenged Gary to “make” him “leave” after Miller told him to “get the f**k out of here.”
“I don’t make trash, I burn it,” Gary said to Ricky Johnson at one point, drawing laughter from at least three other white men sitting and standing nearby.
Eventually, Gary Miller’s wife, Janis, and daughter, Tiffany, joined the confrontation. As Janis tried to escort Johnson away from the property with Gary in tow, Tiffany yelled, “Do you know where you are? Do you know the history of the town?”
Swipe below to see the entire viral exchange.
Ricky Johnson spoke with AP on Monday (August 5, days before the Millers’ arrest. “I’m still shaking every time I think about it,” he said before returning to his home in Houston, Texas.
Following the incident, on August 3, Virginia City also offered a statement about its culture and “welcoming atmosphere.”
Associated Press staff Scott Sonner and Josh Kelety contributed to this report.
