T.J. Miller was arrested Monday night on charges of phoning in a fake bomb threat on an Amtrak train.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut, the former “Silicon Valley” star “has been charged by federal criminal complaint with intentionally conveying to law enforcement false information about an explosive device on a train traveling to Connecticut.” The charge carries a maximum term of five years.
The actor/comedian was placed under arrest at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport, and on Tuesday appeared before a judge in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was released on a $100,000 bond.
The complaint states that the train was stopped and thoroughly searched based on Miller’s call, in which he claimed that a woman “has a bomb in her bag,” adding that she was carrying a “black bag carry-on suitcase with a handle.” He also told authorities that she continually checked her bag without taking anything out of it, “and seemed to want to get off the train and leave her bag behind.”
The search, however, turned up no evidence of a bomb.
Miller was reportedly in the train’s First Class car while travelling from Washington, DC, to Penn Station in New York. Based on Miller’s detailed description of the alleged bomber, police interviewed “the female subject,” who alleged that Miller was “motivated by a grudge” against her to make the call.
The complaint also alleges that a police officer contacted Miller by phone, and “detected slurring in Miller’s voice and asked if he had consumed alcohol that day.” Miller, stated the officer, replied that he had consumed “one glass of red wine.” Asked if he suffered from mental illness, Miller responded, “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.”
Police also interviewed the attendant in First Class, who stated that Miller “appeared intoxicated upon boarding in Washington, that he consumed multiple drinks on the train, and that he had been removed in New York owing to his intoxication. The attendant also advised that Miller had been involved in hostile exchanges with a woman who was sitting in a different row from him in the First Class car.”
The incident is currently being investigated by the FBI.
A recent article about Miller’s firing from “Silicon Valley” includes allegations of excessive drinking, with an unnamed source telling The Hollywood Reporter that Miller would “show up seemingly under the influence” on the set of the HBO comedy, “if he showed up at all.”
TMZ shared video of Miller being arrested at LaGuardia, below.
