The white man who was arrested after being filmed in a now-viral video telling a Black man there’s a “hanging tree” in his backyard told deputies why he made that incendiary and racist remark.
That video was filmed at the Hot August Nights classic car festival in Virginia City, Nevada, by Rick Johnson.
Johnson was at the festival on Aug. 2, collecting ballot signatures for a petition to cap attorney’s fees in the state. He approached Gary Miller about the petition, and Miller allegedly told Johnson there was a “hanging tree” for people like him in his backyard. The interaction immediately took a fiery turn and Johnson began recording.
“And where’s the tree at to hang people at?” Johnson asks Miller in the video. “Where is that? Where is the hanging tree at?”
“In your backyard,” Gary Miller said before calling Johnson a “crying motherf—er.”
Miller’s wife, Janis, was also seen in the video ushering Johnson away from her husband and calling him her “brother,” while Johnson tearfully protested the “hanging tree” remarks. The Millers’ daughter, Tiffany, also confronted Johnson and defended her father.
Johnson posted the video on his TikTok account, which set off a firestorm online.
The Storey County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation which ended in misdemeanor arrests of all three family members.
Gary Miller, 74, was charged with violation of state crimes of breach of peace and of committing a crime “because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of another person or group of persons.”
His wife, 67-year-old Janis Miller, was charged with battery. Authorities charged their daughter, 46-year-old Tiffany Miller, with obstructing and delaying a peace officer.
Court documents obtained by KLAS reveal what the Millers told deputies about the incident.
Gary Miller confirmed to investigators that “he told Johnson there was a hanging tree down the road and to go hang out down there,” according to court filings. When deputies asked why he made that statement, Miller said he “grew up in different times.”
Johnson told investigators that Miller told him point-blank, “There was a hanging tree for [n—s] like him in his backyard,” documents said.
Documents also revealed that Tiffany Miller told authorities the “tree” in question “was used in the Gold Rush days to hang thieves as punishment.”
Several witnesses corroborated Johnson’s version of events, saying they heard Miller talk about a “hanging tree in town.”
Reports of Miller’s reason for his behavior sparked backlash online.
“Hateful. He should be in jail,” one person wrote. “I’m older than this guy, and there’s no place for that comment anywhere, anytime,” another person wrote.
“No excuse for that kind of hate on a perfect stranger at that let alone anyone,” one person chimed in.
Johnson, who is originally from Houston, Texas, later told deputies that a black SUV with a Confederate flag chased him out of town as he left Virginia City.
After Johnson’s video went viral, representatives for Hot August Nights said they revoked the Millers’ memberships, so they are no longer allowed to participate in the festival. The organization said no festival representatives, volunteers, or staff were filmed in the video or were part of the encounter with Johnson.
State leaders also condemned the incident.
Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said, “Racism and hate have no place in Nevada – this behavior must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.”
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is Black, stated, “Such hate does not represent the values we hold here in Nevada.” he also encouraged others to “likewise denounce the racism displayed in the video.”
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that the Millers are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 14 for a pretrial conference.
