A teenager from central Tennessee is facing a federal firearms charge after allegedly brandishing a gun at a “No Kings’ protest in Nashville, the Department of JusticeannouncedMonday.
Elijah Millar, 19, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, attended the June 14 protest near Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in downtown Nashville, where he allegedly spat at and yelled at protesters before pulling out a gun, federal prosecutors said. Millar was a counterprotester, theMetropolitan Nashville Police Departmentsaid. He kept his gun pointed at the ground, but left “others in the crowd in fear,” police said.
The demonstration was part of the nationwide“No Kings”day of protests on June 14, which saw people come together at more than 2,000 events across the country to protest Trump administration policies, organizers said.
The protests were largely peaceful, but isolated incidents – including adeadly shootingat the Salt Lake City, Utah, protest, did occur.
In Nashville, officers arrested Millar at the scene, seizing the pistol, and charging him with disorderly conduct, police said. Days later, in a separate incident, Murfreesboro police found Millar carrying another loaded firearm, the Justice Department said.
Federal prosecutors said Monday they charged Millar with a count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
They cited a 2023 case that barred Millar from owning or possessing firearms under a conservatorship order issued by the Chancery Court in Rutherford County. The court found Millar to be “at risk of substantial harm to his health, safety, and welfare,” and restricted his access to firearms. A 2024 court order reaffirmed these restrictions, describing him as a “disabled person needing care, prosecutors said.
“The right to peaceably protest government action is guaranteed by the First Amendment and cannot be infringed upon by armed individuals whose actions put people in danger,” said Robert E. McGuire, acting US Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. “Our efforts to hold firearm offenders accountable are designed to keep all members of the public safe from potential violence.”
If convicted, Millar could face up to 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Nashville Field Office, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Murfreesboro Police Department, the Justice Department said.