NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An armed man arrested Saturday during Nashville’s “No Kings” protest has a long history of fascination with Nazis and mass murderers, and he was already on the FBI's radar, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has learned.
Elijah Millar, 19, of Murfreesboro, was arrested Saturday after he “brandished” a handgun while clashing with a few of the thousands of protesters who attended the peaceful rally in downtown Nashville, according to the arrest warrant taken out by Metro Nashville police.
Millar was later released on bond.
Video obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates shows that the counter-protester was dressed in all black with his face covered, carrying a yellow “don’t tread on me” flag and a handgun on his hip.
"No one was directly pointed at, but he was spitting at people,” one witness was quoted as telling police. “People started yelling at him, and he pulled it out and stated he had a gun."
For much of his time wandering around the protest at the Bicentennial Mall, Millar was livestreaming, declaring on X that he was going to be "counter-protesting these commies."
He shouted at protesters, “Commie scum! No f***ing commie, commie scum in America, motherf***er."
Soon, he was involved in a sharp exchange with a “No Kings” protester who challenged him to show his face.
“You are such a coward, such a coward. Take your mask off, you little man,” the woman called out.
"No, I'm not," Millar responded.
"Little dictator."
"No, I'm not. Seig f***ing heil." Millar delivered a stiff-arm salute.
The woman mockingly whooped, “I'm so scared."
So, who is Elijah Millar?
In 2023, a post from Murfreesboro police shows he had been reported missing by his family. At the time, he was described as "autistic but high functioning."
A photo shared by a friend on X shows the moment Millar was taken into custody in Ohio. According to an online record, he was charged with possessing a weapon while under disability.
Yet, there he was among the “No Kings” protest carrying what police describe as a semi-automatic handgun in a holster on his right side.
On his cap, he wore a "Dark Enlightenment" patch linked to a neo-reactionary theory that calls for ending democracy.
A review of Millar’s social media by NewsChannel 5 Investigates shows a fascination with a horrific mass murder in 2011 in Norway that left 77 people dead, including children at a youth camp. Millar expressed admiration for the neo-Nazi who carried out the killings.
The 77 victims, he said, were "77 race traitors."
He also expressed admiration for the killer behind a 2022 mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 African Americans dead.
Another person posted that "he was just trying to help the blacks get their numbers up and help them get a food desert," — which he said made the killer a "hero."
Millar responded with an image of an anime character standing in front of the story in camo with an assault weapon.
"Indeed," the Murfreesboro man agreed.
And Millar’s online rantings show he was especially fond of the person who murdered 51 Muslims at Christchurch, New Zealand, seeming to imitate the shooter's style when he posted his "scribbles" on a new Mossberg shotgun he had just purchased.
The white lettering, which included white power messages, resembled the way that Christchurch killer Brenton Tarrant prepared one of his weapons.
There was also the inscription "this machine kills commies."
On X, an anonymous account responded to those images, saying: “Drop your twitch" – meaning a livestream video – “we will be watching."
Millar answered, "Need to get a helmet and go pro first."
Among his other posts, Millar declared last July, "No more running for me, reapers calling my name."
In December, he posted that "things are about to happen,” along with a photo that included a handgun and the book "Democracy: The God That Failed."
And images posted by Millar himself showed that Murfreesboro police visited his home in April. One photo shows officers inspecting a weapon in his bedroom.
According to Murfreesboro police spokesperson Larry Flowers, officers had two interactions with the young man this past April.
The first, on April 2, came when Millar reported two firearms had been stolen. His mother had, it turns out, hidden them.
The next day, officers were back after getting a report from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force about his online activities. The tip about Millar’s activities had come from someone in Istanbul, Turkey, according to a police report shown in one of his X posts.
“During the CID investigation on April 3, the mother voluntarily released to MPD a Smith and Wesson .38 Special Model 10 handgun, and a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun,” Flowers said in an email.
“Both firearms, along with a lot of ammo and gun accessories, are currently being held in safekeeping inside the MPD property room at police headquarters.”
Still, Millar would later post an image of a handgun, alongside a right-wing manifesto, saying the attention over him being "busted" had made him popular online.
“Currently, there have been no active threats made by Elijah Millar in Murfreesboro, according to the investigation,” Flowers added in his email. “The postings, however, are concerning. The investigation is active and ongoing.”
Reached through X, Millar declined to comment.
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Do you have information that would help me with my investigation? Send me your tips: phil.williams@newschannel5.com
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