The Rhode Island Republican Party chairman called for a state senator's resignation after he was arrested for keying a car with a "Biden sucks" bumper sticker.
Surveillance footage showed Sen. Joshua Miller, 69, keying the car at the Garden City Center in Cranston, Rhode Island, according to police. The Democrat admitted to it and was arrested.
"I absolutely think he should resign," Rhode Island GOP Chairman Joe Powers told Fox News, adding that if Miller were a Republican, "he would have been sanctioned probably that afternoon by the Democrats who were in power."
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Miller is the policy chairman for the Senate Democratic Caucus and leads the Health and Human Services Committee.
He initially said he thought the person who accused him of keying the car was one of the "gun nuts" he claims are stalking him for sponsoring legislation restricting firearms. After police confronted Miller, saying they had video evidence, the state senator admitted and went to the police station where he was charged.
In a police body camera video obtained by Fox News, the unidentified son of the car owner said he heard scratching noises as he approached the SUV and saw Miller with keys in his hand. He said Miller denied keying the car and walked away after the confrontation. Security footage corroborated the victim’s account, the Cranston Police Department said in a press release.
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The footage also shows the man with his parents giving the police a statement. In the video, his mother says the car’s "Biden sucks" bumper sticker may have provoked Miller.
"I don't understand how a bumper sticker can infuriate somebody so much that it's going to cause such damage to a family's car," Powers said. "I mean, this wasn't like it was somebody out there screaming and yelling and protesting and throwing flags all over the place and doing or being all sorts of loud."
"It was just a car in a parking lot with a bumper sticker," he continued.
Powers said he's looking out for Miller's constituents by calling for his resignation. He called the situation "an embarrassment."
"He should go," Powers said. "We already have people lined up ready to take on his position. Some people have been looking at the seat for quite some time, have been watching what he's been doing and have not been happy."
"If you're that brazen to be able to do something in public, that brazen to be able to say something on the airwaves, you can only imagine what else has been going on behind the scenes," he added. "I'm not making any claims, but I mean, come on, where there's smoke, there's fire."
Powers also said resigning rather than waiting for an election would help Miller acknowledge his actions and save face.
"He should step down because that should potentially give him a little bit of a sense of worth to be able to say, ‘you know what, I'm a big enough man to realize that I messed up, and maybe I'm not the right person for this position and maybe somebody else can help the state of Rhode Island get back on course to figure things out.’"
He also said he hasn't heard any prominent Rhode Island Democrats calling for Miller’s resignation.
At a minimum, Powers believes the state senator should be removed from his committees "because he's proven time and time again that he doesn't have the proper leadership skills."
He cited a 2014 incident where Miller was caught on camera telling a man who made a pro-Second Amendment comment to "go f*** yourself." He later apologized, reported The Providence Journal.
In the body camera footage, Miller says to call police Col. Michael Winquist. He said the colonel was aware of the threats from "gun nuts" against him.
Powers thinks Miller had other intentions.
"It's ridiculous to me that you think you can drop a name and get off on it, which is what I believe his intentions was," Powers said.
Police, the press release, said Miller "never reported any threats to Colonel Winquist or any member of the Cranston Police Department."
"Nobody is above the law, including those who make and enforce the laws," Winquist added in the release.
Powers said Miller should have shown more restraint considering his background as an owner and operator of several restaurants, according to his biography on the Rhode Island General Assembly website.
"You would think that somebody who has a business acumen or somebody who relies on customer service and is in a position of leadership would have a better demeanor about themselves," Powers said. "But obviously he proved us wrong."
Miller is due in court July 18, 2023, for re-arraignment, according to police.
Miller did not return a request for comment.
Click here to hear more from Powers.
