Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #55 - From Divorce Court to Pardon Hearings to TikTok: How JP Miller Operates + Dick Harpootlian Is a Loser

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell continue down their path of discovery in the Mica Francis (Mica Miller) case and how her estranged husband, Pastor JP Miller, tends to operate, knowing the system will largely have his back. From TikTok videos in which JP threatens to expose Mica’s private musings to divorce court, where he showed up in a wheelchair, to his 2021 pardon hearing where he showed no remorse, the collective of JP’s actions and words show a man who thinks he only has to say something is true for it to be considered that way.  Mandy and Liz share audio from JP’s pardon hearing as well as court transcripts that give more insight into how his first divorce went down.  Also on the show, Alex Murdaugh’s cantankerous attorney Dick Harpootlian loses his bid for state Senate and all the power that came with that seat. Episode Resources: Russell Ott x Dick Harpootlian Primary Results Russell B Long Cease And Desist to Charlotte Korn Mica's List & Mica's Law, Documents Mica's Attorney, Regina Ward's, Press Conference Luna Shark Premium Member Resources - Click to Join and Access! Mica's Amended Notice of Motion and Motion for Temporary Relief JP's 1998 Aggravated Assault Warrants, Arrest and Plea Docs Defendant John-Paul Miller's Answer and Counterclaims to Plaintiff's Claims Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. Learn more about how you can help us fund FOIA’s, dive deeper into cases and experience the investigation first-hand on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. In June we’re offering your first month of Soak Up The Sun membership for $6.00 off. Join Luna Shark Premium today at Lunashark.Supercast.com. Premium Members also get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. And for those just wanting ad-free listening without all the other great content, we now offer ad-free listening on Apple Podcast through a subscription to Luna Shark Plus on the Apple Podcasts App. Or become a Premiere Member on YouTube for exclusive videos and ad-free episodes. SUNscribe to our free email list to get that special offer for first time members, receive alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBMJcP Visit our new events page Lunasharkmedia.com/events where you can learn about the upcoming in-person and virtual appearances from hosts! And a special thank you to our sponsors: Microdose.com, PELOTON, and VUORI. Use promo code "MANDY" for a special offer! *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email [e-mail] and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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New eligible clients only. Complete criteria by August 30th, 2024. Visit rbc.com slash student 100. I don't know if the system will ever catch up to guys like JP Miller, but I am disturbed yet again after taking a closer look at his pattern of behavior revealed in court documents. Now more than ever, I am determined to shine a bright light on coercive control, as sunlight seems to be our biggest hope for passing Micah's law in a state where women are not seen as equal in the eyes of the law.

My name is Mandi Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption previously known as the Murdoch Murders Podcast. True Sunlight is a Lunashark production written with journalist Liz Farrell. We have a lot of ups and downs in this episode, but I want to start with a new feature of this show, appreciation for our Lunashark Premium members. Thank you to Nikki B, Rhonda M, Patricia B, Evelyn L, and Crystal P for recently becoming Lunashark Premium members. Your support means the world to us. And now for the good news.

Dick Harputlian is done in the Senate. He was defeated by Russell Ott in a very close and heated race that stunned South Carolina Tuesday night. But Dick lost a lot more than just his Senate seat on Tuesday night. He lost an immense amount of power, too. He lost his power as a lawyer legislator. He lost his power as a man who presented himself as invincible. He was dethroned by his own people in a fair election. Almost three years ago, then-Senator Dick Harputlian walked into a courtroom packed full of reporters, scanned the crowd, and looked for me, as I was pretty much the only reporter at the time

covering the Murdoch story who wasn't buying into his narrative and was calling him out consistently. On a hot mic, he then asked a pack of journalists if Mandy Matney really exists. And then he followed up by a sexist joke. The media section erupted in laughter, and that moment changed my life. I talk about this in greater detail in my book. At first when this happened, I felt small and weak. I questioned my abilities as a reporter.

I had a panic attack earlier that day, which is why I didn't make it. I was thinking maybe I'm not cut out for this whole reporting thing. But then I realized something. Dick was afraid of little old me. And he should be. He wouldn't have made that hurtful joke if I wasn't a threat to him. So instead of shrinking like he wanted me to, that moment empowered me and gave me the spark I needed to keep going. Our team kept a harsh spotlight on Dick Harputlian in these last three years. A spotlight like he had never seen before.

The great big senator who manipulated the press for decades was not used to being criticized or questioned. We showed people time and time again that his actions couldn't just be excused as a defense attorney doing his job. We show how he lied, bullied, and used his power and influence to use and abuse the justice system all on behalf of his client, Elick Murdoch the murderer. Now all these years later, I think it's safe to say, Dick knows that I do in fact exist. And last night's election results are in fact a big deal.

Dick Harputlian's senator seat is in the nucleus of good old boy power. That power has shifted, finally, and I believe this shift in one Senate seat could start a tidal wave of change in South Carolina for the better. The days of, Dick's always been like that and we just deal with it, are over. Dick has gotten away with a lot in these past few years. Sexist and racist remarks, pointing a gun at the prosecution during trial, filing a frivolous complaint

to get Eric Bland's law license removed, et cetera, et cetera. And last night's results show that even the untouchable dicks of the world can be hit by karma and accountability when they least expect it. We have a long way to go in South Carolina and last night wasn't great across the board. One of our best lawmakers, Senator Shealy, has to face a runoff. Brad Hutto, unfortunately, won his primary. runoff. Brad Hutto unfortunately won his primary, and Luke Rankin, Micah's senator, who we will talk about in a minute, won his primary too but will face a challenger later.

Oh, and a congressional candidate who trolled me and called me a child on Twitter once, she lost her primary, bad. So that is something too. Last night wasn't perfect, but it did make a mark in what I see as a shift toward sunlight in South Carolina. That is a big deal. A lot has happened over the past week in the Micah Francis case. Again, we have decided to honor Micah's wishes and grant her a posthumous name change. We will no longer be referring to her as Micah Miller, which let's talk about that. As you all know, we were in the middle of putting together the episode last week when

Mandy was in Myrtle Beach for the hearing that had been scheduled in Micah's divorce. The hearing got canceled and a press conference was held instead. Mandy told you all a little bit about Micah's family's new mission to get a coercive control bill passed in South Carolina. We'll talk more about Micah's law in a second. When we first heard the hearing was cancelled, we were mildly concerned because of patterns we had been seeing in J.P. Miller's divorce cases, where proceedings would get delayed or dropped, and where he would come to an agreement, avoiding perhaps a courtroom battle, only for him to go back on that agreement later. We were a little worried that this was maybe a strategy on JP's

part, a way to avoid having Micah's attorney and family put details about Micah's marriage to him on the court record for the public to see. There were so many media agencies, us included, who had filed requests with the court to be present and record the hearing. If it was a strategy on JP's part, then Micah's attorney Regina B. Ward was already for him because, like we told you last week, she included specific examples of the kind of abuse Micah's law would criminalize. All of the examples came from Micah's own journals as well as police reports. We don't know if JP was expecting that information to be published, but sure enough, the day after the hearing was cancelled, because the parties had come to an agreement on some issues and decided to hold other issues in abeyance,

JP and Solid Rock Ministries had filed their responses to the complaint filed by Micah's sister. And shocker, JP is fighting Micah's and her family's request for her to revert to her maiden name. As part of the name change request, the family is also asking that the court order that Micah's death certificate and other relevant documents reflect that name change. So, spiritually, she would no longer be tagged with the name of a man she was trying to escape. In his response, JP asked the court for the same restraining order the family sought from him. Plus, he asked for a NACO, a non-adversarial contact order. Now, this is something he included in his own divorce filing in February and in a postnuptial agreement that Micah's attorney says Micah had been forced to sign.

A NACO would restrict the Francis family from engaging in any adverse behavior against JP. It doesn't define what JP would consider to be adverse behavior. And it would bar them from making any disparaging remarks about him. He's asking for a temporary and a permanent order. He's also asking that the Francis family pay his legal fees, something they're also asking of him. And he's asking that the court deny the Francis family's request for him to pay for a financial forensic expert. And of course, he's asking the court to deny the families and Micah's request to change her name back to Micah Frances or for her to go by her first and middle names, Micah

Acacia. In his filing, JP denies that the church is a quote, mere extension of himself. He denies that Micah contributed to the acquisition of their home. He denies that the October 2023 divorce filing was dismissed in February at his behest. He denies that he sold their home to the church in December in an attempt to defraud Micah. He denies that the church is colluding with him, and he denies that the house is subject to equitable division. In its filing, JP's church also denied colluding with him. And the church also is asking the court to issue a restraining order barring Micah's family from

coming to the church campus, quote, bothering, harassing, contacting, or otherwise persecuting church members or officials. The church is also asking for attorney fees for Micah's family. At the end of last week, the judge issued a temporary written consent order that acknowledges the agreement the parties came to last week. The order returns Micah's car to the woman who co-signed the loan for her and gives JP temporary use and possession of Micah's car, the Honda Accord, the one that he had taken from her in February when he had her involuntarily hospitalized at a mental health facility, and that's according to a police report. The order acknowledges that all other property the Robeson County Sheriff's Office took into their possession will be given to Micah's

attorney. And the order restrains JP and Micah's sister and the church, I suppose, from contacting each other, physically showing up at their houses and workplaces, threatening physical harm to each other, and sharing any private, provocative or intimate photos, videos, or audio. Okay, so let's get back to Micah's law because as we continue to learn more about Micah's case, we're also getting a refresher course in just how bad South Carolina is for women. According to a study that was released last year, South Carolina has been among the 10

most dangerous states for women in 23 out of the past 25 years. We're talking about domestic violence and getting murdered by your partner. Think about that. That means 25 years ago, South Carolina was told, you have a big problem here. And legislators were like, sorry, what? Did you say something about a lesser cut of meat? That is a reference to something one of our sitting scumbag senators actually said. His name is Tom Corbin and he said that about women in 2015.

He called them a lesser cut of meat. Which is interesting because the more we look at South Carolina's history, it sure does seem like a state where men really don't like, and seem to suspiciously prefer being around with just each other. Look at our Supreme Court and our state house. Look at all the rooms that men put themselves in that are filled with, you know, other men. In fact, after last night's election, South Carolina is left with the very possibility of only

having one female senator in the state house by November. That would mean 2% of our Senate would be female. And they will still tell us that everything is equal and that the men are fighting for the 51% of the population that has been historically screwed over by male lawmakers. Honestly, it is highly suspicious at this point. That said, Micah's law is going to be a fight because, like we keep saying, this is a law that would empower women and give them more control over their own fates. In next week's Cup of Justice, you will hear from the global expert on coercive control laws, Laura Richards, who helped pass the world's first federal coercive control law

in the UK in 2015. And Laura is now working to pass similar laws like Micah's law around the United States. Micah's law would criminalize a pattern of behavior that is far too common in toxic relationships. The kind of toxic relationships that are normalized in patriarchal circles. Like J.P. Miller's church. We know this is going to be a big battle because a coercive control bill has already been introduced in the legislature three times,

twice in the House and once in the Senate. All three times, it was essentially dead on arrival when it was sent to the Judiciary Committee. In December of last year, the South Carolina Bar Association held a continuing education course on family law court in which attorney Megan Hunt Dell spoke about coercive control and how to identify the signs of this type of domestic abuse. A packet from the class notes that coercive control perpetrators are a particularly dangerous type of abuser because they are persistent. Their desire to control is intense, quote, their desire to control is intense and rigid.

And if they feel like they're losing control, they can take extensive extreme and even lethal actions to maintain control and or punish the victim. They generally refuse to take no for an answer. Consequences are quote, unlikely to be deterrents. They are generally very charming and manipulative and they have no interest in changing their behavior. So our state's own bar association has recognized how malignant this type of abuser is.

Our bar association that is made up of lawyers, many of whom are also a part of our legislature. The bar even instructed lawyers and judges on what they can do when faced with situations where coercive control is at play. Some of the things on that list include recognizing that abuse can exist without bruises, making legal resources affordable for victims,

validating victims' experiences, advocating for victims, identifying and exposing abusive tactics by abusers, supporting victims' attempts to set boundaries identifying and exposing abusive tactics by abusers, supporting victims' attempts to set boundaries with their abusers and by enforcing court orders. So where exactly is the disconnect? Well, the disconnect is that the bar has not acknowledged that this is an issue.

They have acknowledged that lawyers and judges have a role to play in mitigating this type of abuse. They've acknowledged that abusers are very difficult to stop. And yet a bill that would be a literal lifesaver has failed three times in our legislature. Is that because our mostly male legislature knows that a Venn diagram of their own bad behaviors

toward women would sometimes overlap in the coercive control bubble? They can't even make a joke about women being a lesser cut of meat these days. Am I right, boys? Right after Regina B. Ward's press conference last week where she specifically called out Senator Luke Rankin. Luke Rankin, Micah's own senator,

posted his lame, defensive, and manipulative response on his Facebook page. Rankin, by the way, is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is an attorney who has been a part of the state Senate since I was in preschool in 1993. He is up for reelection this year and unfortunately, he also won his primary last night. Rankin has done nothing to fix the way our state elects judges.

And he had this to say about the Francis family's request for the legislature to reintroduce the bill under the name Micah's Law with a few amendments. First, it starts out by explaining the situation to people who are not familiar with it. I was shocked and saddened at the news of Micah Miller's death and I join our community in mourning her much too short life. Now we await results of any investigation by the proper authorities of possible wrongdoing. Then he scolds those calling for a law to protect women from coercive control.

Disappointingly, yesterday, the family law attorney who represented Micah before her tragic death choose to use Micah's death to take a political cheap shot at me. Then he splits hairs. For the record, there is no such bill pending before either the House or Senate Judiciary Committee. And no bill has been introduced by any member of the House or Senate since 2021.

Then he gets defensive while also manipulatively establishing that no one who matters seems to think we need this law. Before yesterday, no law enforcement, victim's advocate, family court judge, or family law attorney, including Ms. Ward, has ever asked me to help make this bill a law. He then calls Regina a liar. The statement or suggestion made otherwise is completely false. Then he promises nothing while also, and bear with me on this one because you might think that I'm reading too much into this, getting a little dog whistly for the patriarchy. He refers to South Carolina laws as meant to protect the innocent. And by innocent, he likely means women. Which is

insulting and infantilizing. How about laws meant to prevent bad actors from committing bad acts? How about laws that are meant to hold the guilty accountable for their behavior? You only need to regard women as human. We don't have to be perfect Disney princesses to be deserving of equal justice under the law that holds our abusers accountable. While I always seek ways to strengthen SC laws to protect the innocent,

I realize for a bill to become law, it requires action by the majority of the House, Senate, and the Governor. I stand ready to help continue to make SC and our community the place so many love to call home. Like I said, he made no promises. Basically, the point of his post was that he didn't like people calling him out when he was trying to get re-elected. Don't blame me, blame yourselves.

And that, my friends, is the general attitude of our legislators. We really hope that hearing about the experiences Micah outlined in her journals will help motivate these guys in a different way this time around. Because honestly, we don't know how anyone can read these allegations without wanting to fix it so that men won't be able to act the way that Micah says JP acted toward her without fear of arrest. We don't know how anyone can continue down their normal path after reading about Micah's allegation that JP would routinely take her phone and hide it from her.

Allegations that he would tell her that her family members were not good people and that she should disassociate from them. Allegations that he would forbid her from spending time with friends or question her so insistently about it that the harassment outweighed the benefit of having friendships. Allegations that he wouldn't let her sleep and would keep her up all night, pulling the covers off her every time she dozed off, allegations that he would throw her clothes out on the front lawn, that she would be forced to sleep in her car to get peace from him, allegations that he tracked her whereabouts and showed

up at a location where she was and would stand in the distance so that she could see that he was there. Allegations that he would monitor her communications and talk about them in his sermons. Allegations that he would hack into her email, apple account, and facebook account and assume her identity. Allegations that he would take her driver's license, wallet, purse, house keys, and change the locks on the doors of the house. Allegations that he convinced her she didn't need a lawyer. Allegations that he would use his sermons to send messages to her against speaking out. Allegations that he raped her and forced her to perform sexual acts against her will,

and forced her to watch him in sexual acts with others. Allegations that he would preach that if his sexual wishes went unfulfilled, it would be her fault if he sought another woman or man to satisfy him. Allegations that he removed her from their bank accounts, but required her to continue to pay him. Allegations that he removed her from their bank accounts, but required her to continue to pay bills. Allegations that he would mess with her transportation and interfere with her work by randomly firing her from the church that she worked at.

Allegations that he would use her faith against her and tell her that she wasn't a good Christian. Allegations that he would use her faith against her and tell her that she wasn't a good Christian. Allegations that he would make videos of her in private settings and then threaten to upload them if she didn't do what he wanted. Allegations that he would tell her she was lazy, mentally ill, gullible and not smart. All of that, the larger picture of it, the pattern of it, would have been prohibited if South Carolina would have passed its 2022 Coercive Control Bill. And that is not even mentioning the allegations that speak toward further amendments to that

bill suggested by Micah's attorney and family. Allegations that JP was emotionally abusive. Allegations that JP was using humiliation as a weapon against Micah. Allegations that he would ignore her requests to leave her alone. Allegations that he was cruel to her dog. Allegations that he would destroy her property

and he had keyed her car and dented her hood with a dumbbell. Allegations that he actively tried to and in some instances was able to destroy evidence related to her documentation of his alleged abuse. Allegations that he misused legal documents and had a cease and desist letter sent to Micah, threatening legal action against her if she spoke badly about him and the church. Allegations that he demanded she sign a postnuptial agreement, giving up certain marital rights. Allegations that he demanded that she sign a separation agreement without the benefit

of legal counsel. The judge prevented that from happening, by the way. Allegations that he convinced Micah to drop her divorce case against him only to very literally put her in a divorce case. The judge also said that he would not have been able to prove that he was wrong. He said that he would have been able to prove that he was wrong. He said that he would have been able Allegations that he convinced Micah to drop her divorce case against him only to very literally turn around and immediately file his own case against her. Allegations that he would routinely cheat on her and pay for sex with both men and women. Allegations he would steal her identity and text from her accounts in an attempt to disgrace her name

allegations that he would change her passwords and lock her out of her own accounts allegations that he would engage in medical abuse by declaring Micah to be bipolar and forcing her to take his prescription of lithium. Allegations that he would give her testosterone shots and make her swallow pills in his presence. Allegations that he would convince her that her Christian duty was to forgive him. Allegations that JP would use his power at the church against her, even using church letterhead for the purposes of harassing her. And finally, allegations that he would engage in physical abuse that left no marks, such

as finger punching Micah in the throat or holding her up against a wall by her throat, and such as slapping a drink out of her hand and snatching a plate of food from her and throwing it. If you haven't read through Micah's list, we highly recommend that you do because it goes into even more detail. See the link in the description. And we will be right back. The dashboard on the Acorns app is what sold me, and we are reaping the benefits left and right.

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Compensation provides incentives to positively promote Acorns. Investing involves risk. Acorns advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. View important disclosures at acorns.com slash sunlight. This episode of True Sunlight is brought to you in part by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first ever Bake From Frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, fresh pastas and artisanal pastries. And wow, y'all, it is good.

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You heard me, free croissants in every box and $30 off your first box when you go to wildgrain.com slash mandy. That is wildgrain.com slash mandy. Or you can use the promo code mandy at checkout. Okay now, if you think that JP's fight against Micah's name change is a final act of control, get ready for this one. This past week, JP began posting TikTok videos in which he's determined to reveal what he calls the truth. Again, he has never been charged with abusing Micah and he denies ever hurting her.

But here he is in a video threatening to release 350 plus pieces of evidence that will show what Micah really thought about her family and what Micah really thought about Charlotte. This guy seems to be so blind to his own behavior that he can't see that what he is doing here is a form of the harassment he says he doesn't do. He's not only threatening to hurt Micah's family

and her friends, he's threatening to hurt Micah's memory by exposing the private thoughts she expressed to him. So what is he trying to accomplish here? It's not normal behavior to make threats like this. But you know what is normal? Little boys playing with toys. In JP's video, he's positioned himself next to a life-size doll of Spiderman. Yeah, while he's sitting there next to his doll, he's making this weird threat.

And it's like, why not just release this stuff? Why make an announcement that you're going to do it? In our opinion, the answer to that question is because threats are meant to control people and behavior, right? Threats are designed to instill fear in the people whose behavior you're trying to control. And to some people out there, that's the sport. That's the game. That's what they consider fun. In his second TikTok video,

JP seems to take pleasure in the thought that he's just being super clever. He talks about the notion that Micah had JP's signature tattooed on her at JP's behest and that it was a sign that he owned Micah like she were his property. He says that soon after Micah got that tattoo, he and Micah broke up for a bit and she covered that tattoo up with a tattoo of a lotus flower. Then she got his name tattooed on her again.

He tells his imagined audience that if having a person's signature tattooed on you means that that person believes that they own you, then ta-da! He lifts his shirt and shows Micah's signature on the part of his torso that's typically covered by his arm. Some commenters noted that the tattoo looked brand new. We have no idea whether that's true.

In a third video, JP says he got that tattoo in January when Micah also got a big wedding band tattooed on her finger. He asks the question, is that something someone who is being abused would do? Uh, yeah, it is. It's called appeasement. It's called being so broken down by accusations and a lack of trust that you feel like you have to do something highly demonstrative in order to show the person who is allegedly tormenting you that you're loyal to them. That said, we don't actually know that Micah had that tattoo. If she did, it wasn't fully visible from the surveillance videos shared by Robeson County Sheriff's Office. Also, in his third video, JP talks about why he gave that weird sermon the Sunday after Micah's death. He admits that it was stupid to do and

says he asked people to stay silent because he didn't want to hear any of their personal stories about suicide, which okay pastor, and that he wanted them to convene with Jesus. He also says he was in denial and that he didn't want any of it to be true. Another claim he makes is that before Micah died, his goal every day had been to keep her alive. That his mission every single day was to find, quote, somebody somewhere to get Micah her lithium because he told people if she didn't have her lithium, then she was going to kill herself. Here's where we remind you that Micah's list includes a suggestion to include medical abuse in the new coercive control law because Micah felt that JP was forcing her to take his medication for a condition

she did not believe she had. Also in the video, JP says he went to pastors, counselors, DOCTORS, policemen, judges, friends, family, roommates, everyone you could possibly think of, and nobody believed him that Micah was sick and needed her lithium. There's so much to unpack there. It almost feels like he's being smug about being right about Micah wanting to kill herself, which makes us wonder why his lawyers aren't stopping him from making these videos. Micah killed herself, he says, because she wasn't taking her lithium. Again, so many people have reached out to us to tell us that lithium is rarely used

these days to treat bipolar disorder, which we don't actually know that she had at this point. Mr. 350 plus pieces of evidence has yet to produce one single piece of evidence. The bottom line is that JP is not only wanting to clear his name, he wants to keep Micah's family and friends exactly where he wants them. He wants them to fear him so that they will stop airing his dirty laundry. And he seems to believe that what JP wants, JP should get. Unfortunately, the system has been agreeing with him so far for the most part. One example of that would be the pardon that Governor Henry McMaster

granted him. So let's quickly talk about this because the more we learn about JP's 1998 charges, the more clear it becomes that the pardon board should have thought twice about allowing this man to have his rights restored. We've told you about how these charges were from an incident in which JP intentionally hit a woman with his car driving at a high rate of speed in 1998. We told you about how his buddies rallied around him in 2021 to support his pardon so that he could buy a gun. And with the help of his lawyer, that was granted. But we never told you about how exactly his charges were pardoned and what went down that day. So we foiled for all records in relation to JP's 2021 pardon because

this is critical stuff. As we showed you in Murdoch time and time again, it's really important to take a closer look at every single time the system gives men like JP a grain light and tells them that they can get away with a little bit more if they just asked. So last week, we received the audio recordings of JP's pardon hearing with the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. I just want you guys to hear for yourself how easy this was for him. First off, his attorney Casey Brown from Winslow Law gives a one minute summary of why JP deserves to be pardoned.

I can begin. My client born May 20th, 1979, seeking a pardon for assault and battery of higher aggravated nature, he was, the incident date is listed as February 11th, 1998 and client pled guilty in June of 1999. He received a four year sentence suspended to three years probation. Probation was completed without incident and it's been 20 years since then. My client has completely turned his life around. He's got a f He started a ministry. Um

a pardon for this to rest Um as a religion and Lord seeking that from the sta it over to my client to e more about his life and changes since then, the last 20 years. And then JP is asked why he feels like he deserves a pardon. Well, first of all, when it happened a little over 20 years ago, the incident was I was driving a work truck through a wake zone after a hurricane.

And the person that brought the charge or whatever said that the waves of the wake zone, I guess knocked them over or something. And when I went to court, I was young and I didn't have a lawyer, didn't know anything. And a lady that was in the courthouse just told me to plead guilty. And so I went into plead guilty and the person who was bringing the charges didn't even show up because they had three or four warrants out for their arrest. I never even met the

person or saw the person ever in my entire life. And I didn't even know that I had this charge until a few years ago. We have a bunch of lieutenants and policemen in our in our congregation. And Mr. Miller, let me tell you something. I'm sure your attorney will tell you we don't retry cases here. We just can't do anything about that. We just have the facts of the case. Yes. What we're trying to look at now is how you change, why do you feel like you deserve

a pardon, and some of the things you've been doing since all this happened. J.P. obviously wasn't following directions, but let's talk about his bizarre version of how things went down in comparison to what the victim said happened and what he pleaded guilty to. There were no hurricanes in February 1998. There was, however, flooding in Myrtle Beach. According to the warrant for JP's arrest and to a civil lawsuit filed by his victim, Jennifer Garland, shortly after, people were out and about that day in the Bridge Creek neighborhood, putting down sandbags to alleviate the flooding.

According to the warrant, people told JP to slow down but he continued to speak in the Bridge Creek neighborhood, putting down sandbags to alleviate the flooding. According to the warrant, people told JP to slow down, but he continued to speed through the neighborhood. He hit Jennifer and she lost her balance and then stood up and as he drove off, she ended up on the hood of his truck for a quarter mile before he slammed on the brakes and she fell off. According to the lawsuit, at around 3.45 on the afternoon of February 8th 1998, Jennifer was assisting her family and friends with sandbagging their homes. JP was allegedly at the scene

driving a different truck from the one he ended up hitting Jennifer with. While driving in that truck on the closed road and after being told to leave by people at the scene, JP returned in a silver S10 pickup with black tape over the license plate to conceal his identity. Again, this is according to the filing. Quote, upon returning in the silver S10, defendant again began to speed to harass the people attempting to save their homes. Jennifer was on the road and told JP to slow down according to the lawsuit. He reacted by accelerating and drove into her and then drove off with her on the hood again, according to the lawsuit. Then he left the scene.

According to the lawsuit in his response to that lawsuit, JP denied the allegations and upped the ante. In his filing, he alleges that he was harassed at the scene, that Jennifer jumped on the hood of his truck and attempted to damage his truck, and that she refused to get off the truck. He said any injury Jennifer had from that is her own fault. But then, the next year, he pleaded guilty as charged in criminal court. It's ridiculous that JP would claim that he didn't even know he had these charges when there are repeated instances of him using his redemption from his past in his sermons. And it's ridiculous that he would try to paint his victim as a criminal. I mean, he's a pastor, someone who is supposed to care about

people, forgive people, and ask for forgiveness for himself. Not only does he try to manipulate the board into believing that these charges were so unfair and meaningless that he had simply forgotten about them. And not only does he try to paint the victim as a bad person with warrants out for her arrest. And not only does he show zero remorse for this past, he wants the board to know that he's connected in the law enforcement community. That he is such an important person and has them on his side. You caught where he mentioned that he had policed the lieutenants in his congregation, right? It's odd, no? So finally, JP follows directions and tells the board why he thinks he deserves this pardon. Okay, I have a wife and five children, my older three are college graduates. Notice how he tries to paint himself out to be the head of this like solid and established

family when really he has a child from a teenage relationship with a different last name from him, four kids from a marriage that he ruined allegedly with his sex addiction, and a wife he was allegedly cheating on at the time. Can we talk about how many bad men get bonus points just for stating that they're a husband and a father as if that carries something? Can we talk about how many bad men get bonus points just for stating that they're a husband and a father as if that carries something? Can we talk about how many men who are also husbands and fathers have brutally murdered their own family members? So being a husband and a father actually means nothing. Also, this isn't his kid's fault, but he absolutely did not have three children who were

college graduates at the time of this hearing. That is a lie. Dr. John H. C. Hicks, Jr. I've started a church that has over 500 people in it each week. We have a, I started a homeless ministry that specifically takes vets that are homeless off the streets, gets them jobs with people in our congregation. We get them a place to live, give them transportation once they've completed our courses. I started a Christian private school that is the most affordable school in all of Myrtle Beach so that any Christian family that wants to put their child in a private school can do so. Like I said, I didn't

even know this charge was on my record until recently and And, you know, I just, I would love to have the pardon just because I think it's the right thing for me and I think it's the right thing to do in general. Here's the rest. How's it going to help you? What are you looking to do? I guess I'm just looking for a little bit of forgiveness. I think that with the lieutenants and the policemen in our congregation, it just adds to the things that I've accomplished in the past 20-something years. It just feels weird having a charge on your record like that,

especially one of how it took place. It's just a... And I think that because it's been 20 years since the completion of his probation, we're looking to restore civil liberties, especially for a leader of a church, person who's started educational programs and homeless programs. I think that restoring civil liberties, civil liberties for a man like this is important as an American and as a South Carolina resident. Absolutely. Thank you and I appreciate the clarity there. And I'm not going to ask you about giving back

your community because your whole life looks like you're headed back giving back your community through your ministry. Sir, is there anything Mr. Miller that you haven't been able to tell us that you like you want to make sure this board knows today? No sir, I guess that sums it up. I guess that sums it up. Thank you for your time. Well, we appreciate you appearing today. Anything in closing, Mr. Brown? You know, just that it's been 20 years again, and my clients, the change in his life is it was brought on not by the state, it's by his own self doing. self doing. And I think it's night and day from the 90s to now of what he's done, what he's accomplished, not for himself and his family, but also for the community as a whole in the state of South Carolina. And I think that that

warrants the restoration of civil liberties. He knows that the charge won't be removed from his record, but it's the forgiveness based on the life that he's lived, the exemplary life he's lived, and the goals and rewards that he's sought for not only himself, his family, and the rest of South Dawn. If JP had not gotten this pardon, would it have changed his behavior over the last few years? Obviously, we can't know the answer to that, but we can say that this pardon that he definitely did not deserve in our opinion, likely sent a very affirmative message to him

that he was this person he wanted people to believe he was. A person whose present was so honorable that he didn't deserve to have to continue paying these consequences. Consequences by the way that he didn't deserve to have to continue paying these consequences, consequences by the way that he accepted in lieu of going to trial and going to prison anymore. Again, it confirms a core belief JP seems to have about himself, which is that if he wants something, he is entitled to get it. which is that if he wants something, he is entitled to get it. And people always seem to support him in his endeavors, no matter what.

It is something that has come across loud and clear as we have continued to go through his divorce filings. And it's something that a lot of these guys accused of doing horrible things to their wives like Elick Murdoch, Michael Colucci, and now JP Miller all seem to share. A history of getting out of whatever they get into. And a system just letting them do it time and time again. And we'll be right back. Check out Murder, True Crime Stories, a Crime House original podcast, from the shocking Chandra Levy case and infamous Tylenol murders to the tragic deaths of the Clutter family. Each episode focuses on a famous solved or unsolved murder case. Listen in every Tuesday as the show dives into the darkest corners of true crime, unraveling chilling narratives, examining compelling clues, and most importantly,

seeking the truth. What sets Murder! True Crime Stories apart is the focus on humanizing the victims and the effect their deaths had on their families, friends, and community. We'll always leave with the knowledge of why their stories need to be heard. There's a story behind every murder, but is there an ending? New episodes of Murder True Crime Stories release every Tuesday. Just search for Murder True Crime Stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Spring is here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats.

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Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by Regency app for details. Now, let's talk about JP's divorce from his first wife. Last week, we shared the most recent filing in this case with you, an emergency motion in which JP's first wife, Alison, sought full custody of their two youngest children.

With her motion, Allison included an affidavit that further illustrates Micah's fears leading up to her death. She said that things started to get really bad with J.P. and his marriage to Micah in fall of 2021. In fact, she links the worsening of J.P.''s behavior and the sudden death of Chris Skinner, a motivational speaker who was married to a woman that Allison identified as a paramour of JP's. Chris Skinner was paralyzed from the chest down.

Despite this, he was a surfer and ostensibly adept around water. In September 2021, he was found unresponsive in his neighborhood pool. He drowned to death. Allison said that it was around this time, and around the time that JP was trying to get a pardon so that he could get a gun, that she began to witness increasingly concerning behavior from JP, which eventually led to Micah seeking her counsel about what to do. Here is a voicemail from Micah that Allison included as evidence with her motion.

Hey, Allison, it's Micah. This is my new number. Please don't give it to anybody, but I just wanted to see who your counselor was to help you either walk through forgiveness and stuff and keep your heart right through all the mess because I don't want to lose myself in this and I don't want to pursue anything out of anger or vengeance or anything like that. I just want to be free and have peace and keep my soul right.

So if you just text me in the evening that I have a good counselor, you know I greatly appreciate it. Thanks. Bye. In her affidavit, Allison said that the things Micah had told her about JP lined up with her own experience enough that she knew Micah was telling the truth. So what was Allison's experience with JP? Right now, we can only go by the story that the divorce filings tell.

Allison and JP separated in June 2015 when JP's affair with Micah became known. It is around this time that Micah separated from her husband. When Allison, who was 35 at the time, filed for divorce, she did not cite JP's affairs as grounds for the divorce. In an affidavit, she noted that she intentionally did and we'll talk about that in a minute. Now again, in an interesting coincidence, Allison was using the very same law firm that Micah hired to represent her and her divorce from JP. Allison's attorney has since left and gone to another firm. In August 2015, she and JP had come up with an agreement

for their four children in which JP would have had joint legal and physical custody of them. But JP's schedule with the children was articulated. And like we mentioned last week, JP was not allowed to have custody of his daughter overnight. Something Allison maintains was done because of JP's admission that he had molested teenage girls at the church. At the time, JP agreed to pay $1,200 a month in child support and $1,100 in alimony.

He agreed to pay this alimony for up to 12 years. The agreement allowed him to stop paying if Allison, who did not work at the time, were to remarry or to live with a love interest for more than 90 days. JP also agreed to give her ownership of the house with the understanding that she would sell it after the kids were gone and split the equity with him.

Nearly all of Allison's alimony would go toward paying the mortgage. She was allowed to keep her Honda Odyssey and was expected to cover the cost. Just a few months after coming to this agreement, the couple had to amend it because JP was now claiming that his income had dropped significantly. A trick that he apparently learned from his father. And don't worry, we will open up that can of worms on a later episode. According to the affidavit that Allison would later file, this was due to self-inflicted injuries which resulted in him being temporarily confined to a wheelchair. According to a financial declaration JP filed in October 2015, he had no permanent address at that time and was now making only $3,800 a month

at the church. He attended the October 2015 hearing without an attorney. Allison agreed to lower his child support payments to $900 a month. A transcript from this hearing was included in their divorce file. We want to share it with you because we think it is pretty telling and paints a picture of the chaos in this man's life. The judge began by asking Allison and JP boilerplate

questions about their agreement, but partway through something happened and it's not clear what. Here's David reading the transcript. The court, okay, Mr. Miller, do you need a minute, sir? JP, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm good. The judge continued to ask questions, affirming that they had both agreed to the terms of the agreement. But when the judge asked if they both believed their agreement to be in the best interests of the children, JP appears to have delayed his answer. When the judge

pressed him, he apologized and answered affirmatively. So it seems like something was going on with JP. Some sort of behavior that caused the judge to stop proceedings twice. At the end of the questioning, the judge asked JP where he was working. Here is David reading the transcript. JP, I'm the pastor of a church in Myrtle Beach, solid rock ministries. The court, okay, I see you're in a church in Myrtle Beach. Solid rock ministries. The court? Okay, I see you're in a wheelchair. You apparently have some bandages on your right foot.

JP. I fell out of a tree about ten days ago, yeah. The court? Out of a tree? JP. Yes, sir. The court? Do you have any broken bones? JP. Yes yes sir. The court, do you have any broken bones?

JP, yes sir. Five in my foot and two in my wrist and my knees messed up. The court, what are your prospects for recovery? JP, I'm hoping about two months. I'll be able to walk by Christmas again. The court, okay, what were you doing up in a tree? JP. Everybody asked me that. The court. If you don't mind my asking, JP, I have to be honest with you, I guess. Is that right? In hopes for reconciliation? The court. Okay, that's okay. I don't need to hear that. Court transcripts are

great, but they don't always convey the vibe in the room. But I think we all get what was going through the judge's mind in that exact moment. He was like, never mind, I can tell this is going to be some hot nonsense and I'm not interested. So why was JP in a tree? Was he doing some like 1980s romance thing and hopeful that there would be some sort of reconciliation if he got up in a tree? Was he trying to fly like Superman?

It is very unclear. Later in the hearing, the judge confirmed that JP was representing himself and asked if he had been given time to hire one. JP says yes and tells the judge that he couldn't afford to hire an attorney, but that he was okay. The judge continues to press him and JP tells him, I'm fine. I can represent myself. At that point, Allison's attorney interjected to tell the judge that JP had consulted with several lawyers prior to this date and had reviewed the agreement with more than two attorneys. A year after being separated from JP, Allison filed for divorce.

Remember, in South Carolina, you have to live apart from your spouse for a year before you can get a no-fault divorce. Keep in mind, during this separation period, sources say that JP was refusing to let Allison go even though the marriage ended due to his affair with Micah. For a period of time he allegedly love-bombed Allison with grand gestures trying to win her back just like he allegedly did with Micah in the year leading up to her death. On September 14th 2016 a final

order of divorce was filed. Now because JP and Allison had already hammered out their agreement over custody and how they were going to split their assets, when Allison filed for divorce, she did so unrepresented and used a boilerplate form to do so. That boilerplate form included language that waived alimony, which is not something the court agreed to and not something that she caught right away. But JP caught it and according to their divorce records, he decided on his own that that absolved him of having to pay Alison Alamoni. So he stopped paying her. In November, 2016, Alison asked the court to amend her final order of divorce to fix this error.

So in January, 2017, a hearing was held. Both she and JP had attorneys. His was Val Guest, who is now a South Carolina State Representative, and also, unfortunately, won his primary last night. Now, the waiver of alimony was seen as a mistake by the court, which noted that JP's agreement on alimony hadn't changed. Nor had he asked the court to change it, and nor did he question Allison about this contradictory

language in their divorce filing. The court also noted that though JP was at the courthouse the day their divorce was granted, he had chosen not to enter the courtroom during the hearing and that he failed to file a financial declaration. Why didn't he enter the courtroom? Who knows? But the court decided that he was still obligated to pay the alimony that they had agreed to a year and a half before. According to court records, he did not

do that. So two months after the court issued its final order on the matter, Allison had to file a petition for the court to hold JP in contempt. According to the filing, he had stopped paying her full alimony back in October 2016. In June 2017, another hearing was finally held. Now, of course, JP filed a counterclaim to Allison's claim and was officially seeking a temporary modification to his child support and alimony. Again, JP was represented by Val Guest and according to the final order, he presented evidence and a witness. It's not clear who that witness was. For her part, Allison had sworn an affidavit in which

she finally put JP's affair with Micah on the record. According to the affidavit, Allison started Solid Rock Ministries with JP and worked in women's ministry earning a thousand dollars a month in addition to other allowances and benefits. In the affidavit, Alison says that the affair not only ruined her marriage and damaged her children's relationship with JP, it caused her to lose her income and her church family. Quote, our marriage and my husband's career were less than stable at the time because at the time my husband's affair was discovered,

he had previously admitted to both me and our congregation that he had an were less than stable at the time because at the time my husband's affair was discovered, he had previously admitted to both me and our congregation that he had an addiction to prostitution. He had also confessed to me and other staff members of the church that he had sexual encounters with young females from the church who were under the age of 16. When the defendant's affair was discovered, the church leaders demanded that the defendant seek counseling for sexual addiction. When he refused, the majority of our church left the congregation. Hang on, I want to pause here because this is a preacher we're talking about who still

hasn't been canceled. Not only did he have a public affair with a young church member who was married to his best friend, he was allegedly having encounters with teenage girls. That affair was wholesome compared to these other accusations, which included an addiction to prostitution while being married, by the way. And according to Allison, he admitted to sexual encounters with these girls in the church who were under 16 and that people in the church knew about it. As we said in a previous episode, JP preaches a lot about forgiveness when it comes to him. He talks a lot in sermons about how he's quote not perfect and no one is as perhaps a manipulation tactic to convince his congregation that all

sins are created equal and must be forgiven but most especially his sins. We also talked about how Allison said she tried to tell police about JP's alleged inappropriate actions with teenage girls and quickly realized that JP's power would prevent him from accountability and shocker she said that she was told by police that no one would believe her. Imagine how much of this story would be different if there was just one officer who did believe her instead of showing her the door and that the system has and always will favor men like JP. So Alison had to back down from that fight and continue to fight for her own kids in court. In the affidavit, Alison said she had agreed to work

with JP on reaching an agreement and not seek an adultery divorce as to attempt and prevent him from further damage to his career as a church pastor. In JP's financial declaration at the time, he claimed to only be earning $3,200 a month. In her affidavit, Allison pointed out that this claim was not supported by any financial documentation. She wrote, quote, since the defendant is responsible for setting his own salary, it would be easy for him to manipulate what he is allegedly being paid. So that gives us some insight into JP's financial control at the church, right?

Remember at the beginning of the episode when we told you that JP seemed to have a strategy in which he agreed to things only to change his mind later when it suited him? In this case, he had agreed to financial support and then almost immediately claimed he couldn't afford it due to his tree injury. Now, two years after their separation and nine months after he had decided on his own that he wasn't obligated to pay Allison's alimony, when he was being forced to account for himself in front of a judge, he was saying that his salary had been reduced. And Allison was like, yeah, sure. In her affidavit, she also puts it on the record that the church was paying for JP's

cell phones, his gas for food, eating out and entertainment, health necessities, and medical funds. Also, it seems like by this time in June 2017, JP had built the church back up to where he had three services on the weekend. Allison wrote, quote, it is hard to understand how the defendant is suddenly making less now when every aspect of the ministry has improved. Allison also noted in her affidavit that JP had moved into a new house directly in front of the marital residence and had also purchased a boat, motorcycle, and a golf cart. She wrote, quote, I do not understand how he can have these things but not afford to be able to pay alimony. She noted that JP also had, quote, various roommates to

help him with his expenses. Because JP had stopped paying Allison alimony, Allison said that she had to get a $15,000 loan from her family to pay her mortgage and her attorney's fees. JP also filed his own affidavit in this matter and it's really interesting to see how different it is from Allison's. First, JP does not mention any affair or what precipitated his separation and divorce. He simply says, in 2015 when my wife decided she wanted to separate, I gave her everything in hopes we could work things out and reconcile." He says that he had no money to hire a lawyer and no place to stay at that time.

Then he hinted that he was pressured to sign the original agreement. Quote, When I signed the original agreement at Allison's lawyer's office, I did so because they told me if I ever couldn't pay that it was easy to go to court and ask for a reduction and also because Allison gave me hope that we could reconcile. So he's blaming Allison who frankly and I'm basing this on the timeline of their divorce filings as well as her affidavit, does not appear to have been interested in a reconciliation. JP says that he had to borrow over $20,000 from friends, parents, and grandparents and that he had taken cash advances on his credit cards which were now maxed out. He even borrowed from the church quote, just to be able to pay Alison the alimony

she requested while also trying to live and take care of my children. Now for some more blame. JP said he only made $18 an hour and that he couldn't survive like this. He made no mention of the boat, the motorcycle or the golf cart, by the way. Then he said that Alison has quote, come to my job and in parentheses, he wrote church on a Sunday morning and screamed and cussed in front of over 20 parishioners as well as harassed me in person many times when I pick up and drop off the kids. Her boyfriend has also threatened me several times and made me very uncomfortable when I'm picking up and dropping off my kids."

Then he notes that he was no longer getting a housing allowance from the church. Again, according to Allison, JP controlled his salary at this time. Here's where it gets good, guys. He said the stress was unbearable and quote, I believe Allison is not reporting all of her income. She has at least three jobs. And he said this without any irony. Then he misspelled Starbucks and noted that she also worked as a babysitter and at another local church.

He said he was begging the court to come up with an amount that allowed him to live without borrowing money and that would allow him to be quote, the great dad that I know I am. I don't mind eating ramen noodles every night, any misspelled ramen and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day. He asked the court to reduce his alimony to Allison by 50% and set the child support accordingly. He said he had worked really hard with his attorney to settle this matter outside of court and so he would like the court to make Allison pay for that attorney. In the end, the judge sided with Allison. In her final order, the judge wrote, quote,

I find the actions of the defendant to be in willful and deliberate violation of the prior order of the court. Now up until Allison had filed her petition for contempt JP had only paid her 250 of the nearly eight thousand dollars he owed her but after she had filed that petition he coughed up around three3,300. So the judge ordered JP to pay the balance of what he owed Allison within 90 days. So JP had also asked the court to find Allison in contempt and violation of their court order because in November 2016,

right around when he stopped paying her alimony, she apparently gave him back the car that she had gotten in the divorce, a 2010 Honda Odyssey. JP was seeking financial credit for taking over the burden of that car and paying for all the related expenses after Alison had given it back to him. He even noted in his motion the amount he had paid

for new brakes and tires and an oil change, the total amount he said he had spent on the car totaled to almost the entire balance of what he owed Allison in alimony. And he was seeking to get credit for that. But the judge found that JP had consented to taking back the car and that Allison had erred in relying on his word, but that she had not violated their agreement. The judge also ruled that JP was not due any money for that. More than that, she ordered JP to pay Allison's legal fees. As for his request to have his alimony and child support reduced, the judge denied it and ordered him to continue paying the amounts

that they had agreed upon in October 2015. Again, this gives us a decent look into the way JP seems to move. It shows the blame that he attempted to put on Allison. It also seems to show that he regarded himself as blameless in all areas of his life. It is a shame that the judge didn't let him put his fall from the tree on the court record because something tells us that would have been very insightful. Now last week a hearing

had also been scheduled for Allison's emergency motion to suspend her custody agreement with JP for their two younger children, who are both teenagers now. As a part of her filing, she included a video of JP's youngest son refusing to go with JP during a custody handoff. From the video, it appears that a cop is present. We are not yet sure what that's all about, but in the video, JP appears angry. He picks up the crying boy, who begins hitting JP and screaming to be let go, and JP carts him off to his car. It's tough to watch.

Custody transfers can obviously be very contentious. So ordinarily, this wouldn't mean anything on its own. But Allison was submitting it as evidence in a hearing to keep her children away from JP for now, especially while he's dealing with the national spotlight on him. We do not know how the judge ruled on Allison's motion though because the records now appear to be sealed.

But back to our earlier statement about JP's seeming belief that he is a blameless being. Since Micah France's story became known, JP has denied every allegation made against him. And he's used the legal system to try to bully anyone who has the audacity to speak out. After her appearance on True Sunlight, Micah's best friend Charlotte received a cease and desist letter from JP, which he

proudly posted on social media and is planning to frame it on a wall. The letter claimed to be from the law office of Russell B. Long, but it is hard to imagine even in South Carolina, you know, the land of no consequences for good old boy lawyers, that any lawyer would be dumb enough to put their name on a letter like this one. Now I want to have David read a part of this letter because it is shocking and absurd. Please allow this correspondence to confirm that our office represents Mr. John Paul Miller. Following our press release on May 9, 2024, enclosed, it has come to our attention that

you have been making false claims online, phone conversations, meetings, and or other circulation to spread rumors without fact regarding our client, John Paul Miller, and or other circulation to spread rumors without fact regarding our client, John Paul Miller and the death of his wife, Micah Miller. Making false statements is actionable within the laws of South Carolina. Any said evidence you may have in your possession should be released to our office as soon as possible for examination of authenticity. If you do not have any supporting information for the statements being made, those statements will be considered defamatory, fabricated, hearsay, or simply opinion. We ask that you cease and desist all oral and written remarks that are

false, unsupported, and unfounded by evidence. To allege by opinion hearsay or fabrication, especially crimes, is actionable within the court and we are prepared to take legal action if you decide to dismiss this notice and continue without supported information. Please remove any and all allegations, opinion, or statements by hearsay immediately and cease from placing new fabricated information whether online, by phone, or in person. What kind of lawyer doesn't know how to spell desist and hearsay? The letter mentions opinion several times. Does Russell B. Long not understand that opinions cannot be defamatory? Notice in the letter, Charlotte isn't accused of saying anything particularly defamatory.

They just say that she must stop talking about JP immediately and hand over all evidence that she has to back up her claims, which is not at all how the legal system works. And it is shameful that attorneys like Russell B. Long get away with these empty threats. Charlotte knows what she has to back her claims up. Charlotte knows what her legal rights are. Charlotte knows that she doesn't have to do a dang thing for JP and his silly lawyer, who writes like a middle school student pretending

to be an attorney. And Charlotte knew that Sunlight, aka publishing that letter on social media, was her best course of action. As we have said, one of the many forms of abuse that Micah's family wants to criminalize with Micah's law is misusing legal documents in the legal process. Specifically, Micah accused JP of having an attorney write her a cease and desist letter demanding that she stop talking bad about JP and the church or she would suffer legal ramifications.

The cease and desist letter sent to Micah's best friend shows us that this is a tactic that JP uses when the narrative is spiraling out of his control. I think he is telling on himself through this cease and desist letter. I think he is showing us that he is still the guy who thinks that he can lie, manipulate, and intimidate his way out of anything. A guy who has never learned that actions have consequences. But you know, something we have learned in the last three years? Karma can catch up with even the most powerful men in this state.

And sunlight is their biggest enemy. We have so much more to talk about when it comes to all of the documents that we have gone through and have yet to go through in this case, including all the eerie similarities we have found in JP's divorces in the divorce of his parents.

Stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True Sunlight is a Lunashark production created by me, Mandy Matney, and co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell. Learn more about our mission and membership at lunasharkmedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky. They make important savings, in addition to cash returns. And you can also start making cash returns in your favorite stores, like Old Navy, Best Buy and Expedia, and even accumulate sales and cash returns. It's easy to use and you can get your returns by Paypal or by check. The idea is simple.

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