Former “Silicon Valley” actor T.J. Miller was taken into custody Monday night at New York’s LaGuardia Airport after authorities said he made a false bomb report involving a train. The comedian appeared before a federal court in New Haven on Tuesday and was released after posting a $100,000 bond.
Miller is facing a federal criminal complaint accusing him of “intentionally conveying to law enforcement false information about an explosive device on a train traveling to Connecticut,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.
According to the complaint, Miller contacted 911 in New Jersey on March 18 and claimed he was riding Amtrak Train 2256 from Washington, D.C., to New York. He allegedly told the dispatcher that a woman had “a bomb in her bag,” describing her as having brown hair and wearing a scarf. Amtrak officials later halted the train in Westport, Connecticut, and ordered passengers off for a search, but no explosives or related materials were found.
The complaint says an investigator later reached Miller, who was in New York, and his description changed. He reportedly said the woman had red hair, wore a red scarf and carried a “black bag carry-on suitcase with a handle.” Miller also claimed she repeatedly checked the bag without removing anything and kept asking about the next stop. The investigator noted that Miller appeared to be slurring his speech and asked whether he had been drinking; Miller said he had consumed “one glass of red wine.” Asked whether he had any mental illness, Miller replied, “No, absolutely not. This is the first time I’ve ever made a call like this before. I am worried for everyone on that train. Someone has to check that lady out.”
Investigators later determined that Miller had actually been aboard Amtrak Train 2258, not Train 2256. That train was also searched, and authorities again found no explosives.
A First Class car attendant who had been working near Miller said the actor appeared intoxicated when he boarded in Washington and drank several beverages during the trip. He was ultimately removed from the train in New York because of his intoxication, according to the complaint.
The attendant also reported that Miller had engaged in hostile interactions with a woman seated in the same car. Investigators located the woman and concluded she had neither a handled suitcase nor explosives. They further determined that she had been seated outside Miller’s direct line of sight unless he had stood up and looked over the seats.
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The complaint alleges that Miller placed the 911 call in an effort to make a false report about the woman, motivated by his hostility toward her.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham pointed out that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Connecticut State Police, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department, Amtrak Police Department and Westport Police Department are still investigating the matter.
This is not Miller’s first brush with the law. He was arrested in December 2016 after a driver accused him of battery. Miller was recently dropped from HBO’s “Silicon Valley.”
