DES MOINES, Iowa – A man from Cedar Rapids appeared in Federal Court Tuesday, following a complaint charging him with influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a United States official, a United States judge, or a federal law enforcement officer; malicious damage to federal property; and interstate communications with the intent to injure.

The U-S Attorney’s Office says 39-year old John Edward Miller is alleged to have sent a threatening message via Facebook to a federal prosecutor and named several other federal employees in the message. Miller is additionally accused of firing a flare gun at the Cedar Rapids United States Courthouse, causing a fire that needed to be extinguished.

If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. Miller’s detention hearing will be held at the Cedar Rapids United States Courthouse on December 11, 2020, at 1 p.m. The matter is being investigated by the FBI, ATF, U-S Marshals Service, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa will prosecute the case.