A historically irascible preacher who “punched” a bishop in Newark New Jersey in the USA over two years ago was arrested again last month, this time for punching a cop in the face who was trying to question him, officials said.
Charles Miller, 51, of Newark was arrested on April 21 and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and criminal mischief, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose.
Police were called to a Newark gas station on April 20 after a man fitting Miller’s description refused to leave the station’s convenience store, the director said.
As he stormed out, he shattered the shop’s door.
He came back the next day wearing the same clothes and officers were called back, police said. The officers began to question him about the incident the day before and an outstanding warrant.
Miller then lunged at one of the officers and punched him in the face, officials alleged. He was arrested and taken to police headquarters.
Miller’s last, infamous brush with the law came on Jan. 27, 2017 when Miller “calmly” walked up to Most Rev. Manuel Cruz, the Auxiliary Archbishop of the Newark Diocese, during a mass at Sacred Heart Basilica and punched him in the face.
The incident was captured on video and went viral as did a “Miller’s obscenity rant” in court later that week where he professed to be a preacher himself, he said.
During his tirade, Miller said he attacked the priest to strike out against what he claimed is the Catholic Church’s involvement in police brutality.
“The pope is the (expletive) faith, that’s why I bust him in his (expletive) face,” he said during his court appearance.
For assaulting Cruz, Miller spent “several months” in jail before being released in June 2017.
Miller’s records indicate he has prior out-of-state convictions, as well as failures to appear in court on other charges, authorities have said. Court records show he was charged in 2012 with threatening a law enforcement officer while resisting arrest, an indictable offence that was later downgraded._ NJ.com
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