T.J. Miller called in fake bomb threat

Former Silicon Valley Star T.J. Miller Arrested for Alleged Bomb Threat

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T.J. Miller, an alleged comedian who is allegedly a big-time cretin to women and allegedly not worth your time or my time, was arrested after allegedly doing something really goddamned stupid.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

The former Silicon Valley star was arrested for allegedly “intentionally conveying to law enforcement false information about an explosive device on a train traveling to Connecticut,” according to a press release from authorities. Miller allegedly made the bomb threat on March 18.

According to United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the 36-year-old comedian and actor allegedly called 911 and told the dispatcher he was on Amtrak Train traveling from Washington, D.C. toward Penn Station in New York City and that a female passenger “has a bomb in her bag.”

In case you’re wondering how the authorities respond to credible bomb threats phoned in about transportation, they, uh, respond in force like they’re supposed to.

The train Miller identified was stopped in Connecticut at Green’s Farms Station in Westport. All passengers were kicked off and bomb squad members searched the area. “No evidence of any explosive device or materials was detected,” according to authorities. It was later discovered that Miller was on a different train.

Take a moment to think about the sheer number of lives that Miller (allegedly) derailed that night (the incident took place on March 18). How many passengers had their plans upended for no reason? How many law enforcement officers had to be paid to conduct this unnecessary search? How many people were made unnecessarily afraid?

The attendant on Miller’s actual train stated that he “appeared intoxicated upon boarding in Washington, that he consumed multiple drinks on the train, and that he had been removed in New York owing to his intoxication. The attendant also advised that Miller had been involved in hostile exchanges with a woman who was sitting in a different row from him in the first class car,” according to the release.

Rather than snark here, I’m going to say that it sounds like T.J. Miller allegedly needs some serious help and I hope that he gets it.

Miller, who played the crude stoner entrepreneur Erlich Bachman on HBO’s Silicon Valley, parted ways with the show after “creative differences” with its showrunners. You may have seen his name more recently on The Mary Sue after being accused of allegedly abusive behavior toward women, including violence and sexual assault.

As our Daniella Bondar reminded me, Miller also has a medical history of erratic behavior. We wouldn’t be surprised if this 2010 incident is eventually raised as some means of explaining his impaired judgment:

The funnyman has divulged at length on podcasts and in his stand-up comedy act about his past arteriovenous malformation on the frontal lobe of his brain. Despite a ten percent chance of death during surgery, doctors removed a golf ball-sized chunk of Miller’s brain after the discovery. Miller began filming “Yogi Bear” abroad when the comedian began acting erratic. He managed to return back to the United States and later suffered a seizure while pitching a movie at a restaurant about the online chat site Chatroulette to his manager at the time.

We’ll follow this story to see if there are repercussions for Miller, who has so far seemed to escape any real consequences for his alleged actions. He’s now been released on a $100,000 bond; the charge that comes with making a false bomb threat carries a maximum imprisonment of five years, and some states demand restitution for the cost of disruption, among other fines.

(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: screengrab/HBO)

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Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.