Reports of Ezra Miller’s arrests and other odd behavior have driven controversy surrounding the actor and the upcoming The Flash movie. While some claims have been well documented, the wild nature of the stories can make it hard to keep track of exactly what the actor has been accused of, and how each case has developed.
The DC Extended Universe has gone through more than its share of behind-the-scenes complications. Thanks to numerous development delays and Ezra Miller’s heavily publicized legal problems, The Flash has become one of the most troubled DCEU productions to date. While the actor finally made a public statement addressing their “complex mental health issues” and committed to doing the work necessary to get things back on track, a number of ongoing stories involving Miller still raise concerns.
Due to both the abundance of claims and a healthy dose of misinformation on social media, it can be hard to keep track of exactly what Miller has been accused of and whether there’s been a confirmed outcome in each case yet. We’ll go through each recent issue, starting with official criminal allegations before moving on to the accusations against Miller without associated legal cases.
Ezra Miller's First Arrest in Hawaii For Disorderly Conduct and Harassment
On March 28, 2022, Ezra Miller (who goes by they/them pronouns) was arrested in Hilo Hawaii. According to a media release from the Hawai‘i Police Department, Miller was charged with disorderly conduct for “yelling obscenities” and grabbing the microphone from a woman singing karaoke and harassment for lunging at a man playing darts.
Police body cam footage released from the incident reveals the man Miller allegedly harassed recounting his side of the story consistent with the HPD media release; however, it also includes Miller telling police that the man assaulted them and “declared himself a Nazi,” which was excluded from the media release. The footage also includes the same man telling police “if you guys don’t light ‘em up, I’m gonna light ‘em up,” which was also excluded from the HPD media release.
Miller paid a $500 fine and pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, and the harassment charge was dropped.
Ezra Miller's Second Arrest in Hawaii For Assault
On April 19, 2022, three weeks after their previous arrest, Ezra Miller was arrested on suspicion of assault in Pāhoa, Hawaii. According to an HPD media release, police were called to a local residence where they were reportedly told Ezra Miller was attending a get-together and became “irate” when asked to leave, allegedly throwing a chair that struck a woman on the forehead resulting in a half-inch cut. According to the report, the woman refused medical attention.
In a 911 call released from the incident, the caller states “I have Ezra Miller at my house right now. We have been offering our home to him and he came into our home and is threatening us right now. He hit me in the head with a chair" at which point the operator asks "do you need medical attention?" The woman replies "no, I don't need medical attention, I need the police here now."
The HPD media release says Miller was released without charges pending further investigation, and there are no additional updates on the case.
Felony Burglary Charges For Stolen Bottles of Alcohol
The third and final criminal complaint levied against Miller occurred on August 7, 2022, when the Vermont State Police charged Ezra Miller with felony burglary. According to a VSP press release, “several bottles of alcohol” reportedly went missing from a private residence in Stamford Vermont. The report says an investigation including video surveillance and statements, the VSP found probable cause to charge Miller for the crime.
According to the report, the alleged victim is Isaac B. Winokur. Winokur is the co-founder of the American Modern Opera Company, for which Miller’s mother, Marta Miller, is on the board of directors. In an interview with Geek Culture, Miller says they worked with Winokur, an accomplished dancer, during their preparation to play Flash for Justice League.
Miller hasn't been convicted of the burglary charges yet, but they're required to appear before the Vermont Superior Court on September 26, 2022, in an arraignment where they will inform the court how they intend to plead.
Ezra Miller’s Iceland “Choking” Video
While this incident happened over two years ago, it’s still regularly cited as one of the first major complaints against Miller’s behavior. On April 6, 2020, a seven-second video was shared online featuring an altercation between Miller and an unnamed woman. There’s no context in the video for what happened before the encounter, but when the video opens the woman is already moving towards Miller with a smirk gesturing with her arms, possibly as some sort of mock fight moves. It’s hard to make out exactly what Miller says at the start of the clip, but as the woman approaches they say “did you want to fight? Is that what you do?” before Miller put a hand around the woman’s throat. The woman backs up against a cart before Miller pivots her around and the woman falls onto some nearby steps, at which point the man filming cuts the camera away and says “whoa, bro, bro…” as he intervened.
With limited context at the time, it wasn’t exactly clear what the video depicted, although the woman falling to the ground with Miller’s hand around her throat doesn’t seem to be an expected outcome from her or the person filming, although no formal charges were made.
More recently, the woman spoke to Variety about the encounter, revealing she approached Miller to ask about injuries on their feet, which they said were “battle scars.” The woman allegedly told Miller “...just so you know, I could take you in a fight.” and after Miller asked “You really want to fight?” she told them to meet her outside in two minutes, leading to the events of the "choking" video. No other details were given about the fight itself, but the woman told Variety “I think it’s just fun and games — but then it wasn’t.”
Since there’s no charges related to the incident and no reported injuries or other damage, there likely won’t be any additional developments in this case, leaving it as a bit of a mystery. It hardly paints Miller in a positive light, but the provocation to a fake fight and short video clip make it just the first of a string of odd stories about the actor.
Relationship with Tokata Iron Eyes
This next claim is the most complicated, sensitive, and, unfortunately, most unclear accusation made against Ezra Miller. The basic facts are two parents, Chase Iron Eyes and Sara Jumping Eagle, accused Ezra Miller of grooming their underage child, Tokata Iron Eyes (who goes by she/they pronouns and sometimes uses the name “Gibson"). Tokata, who is currently older than 18, denies it, claiming the accusations are a part of a smear campaign against Miller.
Claims of this nature should be taken very seriously. Unfortunately, in addition to Tokata’s denial, there are a number of factors that make this one of the more complex and muddy claims against Miller. First, there’s no explicit crime for “grooming,” so unless there’s claims of solicitation or other misconduct, which there aren’t yet, the “grooming” claim itself doesn’t have any legal consequences.
Second, Chase Iron Eyes, Sara Jumping Eagle are Lakota Native American members of the Oglala Sioux tribe and Tokata is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and legal jurisdiction between the United States and Native American reservation land can be complicated. One of the only instances where rulings by tribal courts are respected by United States law is a component of the Violence Against Women Act stipulating that United States authorities will respect orders of protection issued by Tribal Courts. This is exactly what Tokata’s parents are doing, but since Tokata is over 18, and denies the grooming accusations, their parents need to petition the court for a conservatorship so that they can place the order of protection against Miller on Tokata’s behalf. The case has been heard by the tribal court, but records aren’t publicly available.
Third, Tokata identifies as non-binary and transgender, and in an Instagram post denying the allegations against Miller, Tokata also criticizes the conservatorship and says Chase Iron Eyes’ accusations are “transphobic,” and that she’s “now aware of the severity of emotional and psychological manipulation I was made to endure while in my parents’ home.” It’s important to take the claims of victims seriously, but in this case, Tokata is saying she’s a victim of manipulation by Chase Iron Eyes and Sara Jumping Eagle, who are saying Tokata is a victim of Ezra Miller’s manipulation.
Fourth, the claims from Chase Iron Eyes and Sarah Jumping Eagle have extended beyond Miller’s alleged grooming of Tokata, and Chase Iron Eyes even set up an email account with “TrashTheFlashEzraMiller” as the prefix, to solicit more claims against Miller from others, using #TrashTheFlash on social media. It’s understandable for a parent to go to great lengths to protect their child, but this approach is a lot messier, and could even open Iron Eyes up to a potential defamation suit if he can’t provide sufficient evidence for his claims against Miller.
Was Ezra Miller On the Run From The Law?
This is technically an extension of the protective order requested on behalf of Tokata Iron Eyes, but it seems to have generated a lot of confusion on social media. After the tribal court granted Iron Eyes the order of protection against Ezra Miller on behalf of Tokata Iron Eyes, it was reported that authorities were unable to locate Miller, spawning the perception that Ezra Miller was on the run from the police to evade arrest.
This is a gross mischaracterization of the story as reported. When an order of protection is granted, the order is served to the individual the order is placed against. Since the order was placed by a Tribal court in South Dakota and Miller lives in Vermont and frequently travels, authorities were unable to hand-deliver the order. It’s not clear what the current status of the order is, but given Miller’s recent documented interactions with authorities, the notion that Miller is or was part of some kind of nationwide manhunt to evade arrest is a total misunderstanding of the admittedly complicated issue with the Iron Eyes family.
Housing a Family in Unsafe Conditions
Another recent report by Rolling Stone made a number of allegations against Miller regarding a family living on their Vermont farm, including the small children having access to guns, even claiming a baby had a bullet in its mouth. As with all claims, it’s important to take these claims seriously, especially if the children are in unsafe conditions. Interestingly, the article primarily sources claims from the children's father, who, according to the article, the mother says was abusive and that Miller had actually offered them refuge from that abusive relationship.
According to the article, the Vermont Department for Children and Families performed a wellness check on the property and confirmed everything “looked good.” A more recent Rolling Stone article says The State Attorney’s office has since attempted to contact the mother to serve an emergency care order to turn custody of her three small children over to the state, but according to the article, Miller told police the mother hasn’t lived there for months.
Miller's Apology and Potential Flash Impact Explained
The claims against Miller have brought a lot of negative attention to the actor and the upcoming The Flash movie. When it comes to the legal claims, it's not uncommon for actors to evade serious sentences from legal claims, and based on the nature of the three current claims against them, that will likely be the case here. Miller pled no-contest to the disorderly conduct charges in Hawaii and the harassment charges were dropped and it's been several months since the other Hawaii arrest for assault and formal charges still haven't been made. Meanwhile, the Vermont charges of felony burglary are over "several bottles of alcohol," and no other damages were reported, so it's doubtful those charges will manifest in a serious conviction. The choking video, grooming allegations, and the accusation of housing children in an unsafe condition all bring negative press to Miller and The Flash, but unless there's any major bombshell revelations to come out in any of those cases, they aren't likely to rise to a level that causes any concern other than dramatic headlines.
Miller has apologized for their behavior causing alarm, admitted to having "complex mental health" issues, and committed to doing the work to recover. Hopefully, there is more smoke than fire to many of these claims and Miller truly puts in the work to recover from their issues. If Miller can keep a low profile and there aren't any more serious allegations, The Flash will likely avoid any major PR blowback, but Miller's future career beyond The Flash will likely depend on their ability to keep a low profile for the time being, and surely some clarification surrounding the various accusations will be necessary to earn back any lost audience trust.
