Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Death of Mica Acacia Francis, Part 27
52 Plays1 month ago
We've got a minisode today to give you an update about JP Miller's January 12, 2026 arraignment. We will be back soon with our regular release schedule, and a deep-dive into the contents of the indictment.
Check out our YouTube Channel! Fixate Today: Grey Matters
Mica's Law and Mica's List - Provided by Luna Shark Media
#justiceformica
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Context
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to Fixate Today Gone Tomorrow. I'm Nikki, and I'm not here with my Aunt Joy. We are still two neurodivergent ladies who obsess about various topics, and today i am fixating on the death of Micah Frances Miller.
00:00:19
Speaker
Welcome back, everyone. First off, let me apologize for our wonky release schedule we've been having lately. There is a very large family wedding coming up that has occupied the time of just about everybody on our little crew of the four of us that I will be flying into town for as well. So we will be together this weekend, but probably not doing any work.
00:00:45
Speaker
On top of that, we've had the holidays. It's been crazy winter weather where I live, which has made internet kind of wonky. Work and schools have been closed on and off.
00:00:57
Speaker
It's been kind of crazy. And not to triangulate where I live exactly, but my house was very close to a pretty intense...
Legal Proceedings Begin
00:01:07
Speaker
Honestly, police standoff this weekend, and so I just forgot to post an episode because we were a little indisposed.
00:01:14
Speaker
Everyone in my family is fine. But I did want to hop on quickly because this week, John Paul Miller was officially arraigned in federal court.
00:01:25
Speaker
So we are going to release a couple episodes in the coming weeks discussing the arraignment, discussing why we think it's happening now, what it could mean in the future, walking through the actual timeline of the things that were mentioned in the arraignment.
00:01:41
Speaker
But for the sake of making sure we get some information out to everybody, I'm just going to kind of run through what happened at the actual arraignment meeting. this past Monday. I'm recording on January 15th.
00:01:54
Speaker
The arraignment was on the 12th. So the episodes that are going to be coming out were actually recorded before the arraignment happened. With all that in mind, I do want to hop on and tell you guys what happened on Monday.
00:02:07
Speaker
So this will be a bit of a shorter episode. We were actually going tack it on the beginning of the couple episodes that are coming out about the arraignment. But everybody's a little bit busy right now. I'm making the executive decision to do a bit of a solo podcast today.
00:02:22
Speaker
So the arraignment of J.P. Miller took place this past Monday, January 12th. He was arraigned in federal court in Florence, South Carolina. in the episodes coming up in the next couple weeks, we're going to get into, you know, the ins and outs of his charges and things like that. We even talked a bit about his defense team in one of those episodes coming out. But I want to mention the prosecution team.
00:02:45
Speaker
JP will be prosecuted by two female assistant US attorneys, L. Elizabeth Klein and Katie Stoughton. Now, what's interesting is that Klein worked at the Domestic Violence Clinic at the University of South Carolina School of Law, and she wrote a guide about how attorneys should handle domestic violence cases. And this is a quote from that. Domestic violence is a widespread issue that doesn't get adequate attention.
00:03:11
Speaker
A lot of people, including lawyers, do not know the extent and the variety of remedies available to victims of domestic violence. And one of my main goals was to spread knowledge of these remedies.
00:03:23
Speaker
I also hope the guide arms those who may qualify for these legal remedies with the information they need to take action against abuse. So we have on this prosecution team a domestic violence expert.
Courtroom Dynamics and Defense
00:03:38
Speaker
So that's really encouraging to me. At the hearing, JP pleaded not guilty to both federal charges. In the episodes we've got coming out, you'll hear our predictions. And let me tell you, we were off. And I'm actually very happy we were off, but we'll talk about it in those episodes.
00:03:57
Speaker
Federal Magistrate Thomas Rogers III laid out the terms of JP's bond. He received an unsecured bond of $100,000. Let's talk a little bit about the definitions of secured and unsecured bonds.
00:04:10
Speaker
A secured bond is a monetary promise that a defendant will return for their trial. An unsecured bond is a promise that the defendant will pay a certain amount of money If the terms of release are not followed, basically that means if JP follows all of the terms of the bond, he won't be required to pay the full sum of the bond.
00:04:32
Speaker
JP will be required to wear an ankle monitor and turn in his passport. He is to be no contact with Micah's family or any potential witnesses.
00:04:42
Speaker
And the prosecution will give the defense a list of names that JP should not contact. JP will have to refrain from excessive use of drugs and alcohol.
00:04:52
Speaker
He must not possess any weapons. He has to report to the U.S. s probation office periodically. And he will also have to undergo periodic drug testing.
00:05:03
Speaker
So let's talk about what the prosecution said at the hearing. Prosecutors said that the FBI raid of JP's house had uncovered a large safe, which contained cash, silver bars and coins and baseball cards, which are all items that could be liquidated for cash.
00:05:20
Speaker
They said that he also has a large amount of cash available through his role as the leader of a church. They said he should be considered a flight risk, having access to this large amount of cash and a private plane.
00:05:33
Speaker
Investigators, they said, had also seen him, quote, The prosecution also discussed the pattern of witness intimidation. robbie harvey stated that sources reported that all of jp's family members have been ordered to stay in south carolina the prosecution also discussed the pattern of witness intimidation They spoke about JP threatening Micah's family.
00:05:57
Speaker
Allegedly, he gave out their personal phone numbers and addresses to associates of his, and he allegedly told one family member that he would deal with them face to face.
00:06:08
Speaker
They also brought up that he threatened a witness after his 2024 arrest for assault, saying that he threatened to post intimate details about her life on social media.
Trial Prospects and Closing Remarks
00:06:19
Speaker
The defense didn't have much to say. They said that JP was 46-year-old man who had lived in Myrtle Beach for 30 years and was a valued member of his community. That's about all they said.
00:06:30
Speaker
Reporter Liz Farrell said that someone in the courtroom saw JP clutching a Bible. It is believed that the trial could start as soon as March, but will probably be closer to June as there was limited space on the court docket, but it looks like we will be getting a trial this year.
00:06:48
Speaker
When U.S. Attorney Brian Sterling was asked by a reporter if more charges were forthcoming, he said, quote, the investigation is ongoing. The courtroom was apparently full of Micah supporters dressed in purple.
00:07:02
Speaker
Chris Skinner's sister was also present, and Robbie Harvey was outside of the courtroom. Robbie Harvey shared on his Facebook platform that JP was shocked to see him there.
00:07:13
Speaker
After the hearing, Robbie asked JP's attorneys if they were aware of the involvement of minors in this case. And he also asked if they were expecting more charges, but JP's attorneys dodged both questions. Apparently, it sounds like there are a lot of federal agents in the courtroom, with some saying that there were over 50. I'm not sure why so many federal agents would be necessary in a courtroom for arraignments are generally pretty brief.
00:07:39
Speaker
So for such a short hearing, but that's what we were told. And finally, Regina Ward was present and said that Micah's family were not there because it was too hard on them.
00:07:50
Speaker
So that is our quick update. Be looking out for those couple episodes in the next few weeks. We will be getting back to our more consistent release schedule once everything has settled down a little bit more.
00:08:02
Speaker
And we will be returning to the Murdaugh series. We've not left that. We just wanted to make sure that we got the information about the arraignment posted. And oh, you know what I forgot to do? I do it every week and I forgot to do it this time. And I think Joy would think it's hilarious that when I do this by myself, I forgot to do this, but I didn't list my sources.
00:08:21
Speaker
The information I got about the arraignment I got from myorienews.com, legaldefense.com, the podcast Cup of Justice, Liz Farrell, Mandy Matney, and Robbie Harvey.
00:08:34
Speaker
Thank you guys for listening. We can't wait to be back with our full episodes releasing weekly. And thank you for your patience. We love you. We will talk soon.