FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The FBI was conducting an investigation Tuesday morning in a neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale that ended with one man being taken into custody.
Residents in the 1300 block of Southwest Sixth Street told Local 10 News that they heard a commotion around 6 a.m. and saw one man getting arrested.
FBI spokesman Jim Marshall confirmed that Paul Miller, 32, was arrested on accusations of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He is expected to appear in federal court Wednesday.
After the arrest, the Anti-Defamation League said in a tweet that their Center on Extremism had identified Miller as “a volatile white supremacist-accelerationist” months ago and shared that information with the feds.
Several months ago, ADL’s Center on Extremism identified Paul Miller as a volatile white supremacist-accelerationist. COE tracked him to Fort Lauderdale and shared significant intelligence with federal law enforcement before today's arrest. https://t.co/aH6nCYPVNR
— ADL (@ADL) March 2, 2021
The early-morning FBI raid by agents from the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force jolted neighbors from their sleep.
“We woke up to flashbangs. It sounded like they were banging on the door,” Chase Robinson said. “Then you hear, ‘FBI, FBI, come out with your hands up,’ — FBI everywhere.”
“It was definitely very, very jarring,” added Alexa Santos, who was staying next door.
FBI agents surrounded one of the homes and a SWAT vehicle was also in tow.
A man captured video of his next-door neighbor getting arrested.
Miller’s landlord told Local 10 News that Miller was new to the neighborhood and had only rented the apartment for about a month.
“It was a shock to me when I saw this,” said Tarlock Sanghera, who owns the rental property. “It’s a very, very quiet area.”
Neighbors say Miller had kept to himself.
“Standoffish, I guess. He didn’t really want to talk to anybody,” Robinson said.
Across several social media platforms, Miller is seen taunting people with vulgar language, based on their race, appearance and sexual preference.
Local 10 was able to obtain some of the videos before they were taken down. Miller openly showing his face in several videos and disguising himself in others.
A swastika can be seen hanging behind him as he speaks to the camera.
Miller’s Twitter account, which led followers to his YouTube page, has since been terminated due to the website’s policy prohibiting hateful speech.
Further details about Tuesday’s incident were not immediately released by the FBI, but investigators spent about seven hours gathering evidence at the house.
Marshall said the FBI, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force continue their investigation.