Des Moines Ward 1 candidate was convicted of domestic assault, strangulation in Minnesota

A candidate vying for a seat on the Des Moines City Council has out-of-state felony convictions, including an instance where he strangled a woman he lived with.

Robert Lamar Miller, who goes by RJ Miller, was found guilty in 2017 of domestic assault and terroristic threats in his former home of Hennepin County, Minnesota, as first reported by Axios. The incident began with an argument that broke out between Miller and his former girlfriend, which escalated into a violent assault, according to Minnesota court records.

In a separate incident in Iowa, Miller was banned from a Des Moines high school in 2021 after a "disturbance," according to Des Moines Public Schools spokesperson Phil Roeder.

Miller, 33, is a community activist who runs the Des Moines-based nonprofit, Greater Opportunities Inc., which mentors Des Moines youth "that society has rejected" with a goal of reducing violence and improving their futures, according to its Facebook page. He is running to represent Ward 1 on the City Council, the seat recently left vacant when Indira Sheumaker resigned.

More: 3 weeks after Starts Right Here shooting, activists invite youth to share safety concerns

Miller is one of seven candidates running for the seat in the upcoming special election Nov. 7. He initially announced candidacies for the at-large City Council seat and later for District 1 on the Des Moines School Board before officially filing to run in the city's Ward 1.

If elected, he told the Des Moines Register he wants to make more money available for mental health resources, make marijuana possession a lower priority for police, and advocate for clean air and water.

Miller is eligible to vote and run for office in Iowa under Gov. Kim Reynolds' voting rights restoration executive order, according to the Iowa Secretary of State office. His voter registration status is active in Polk County, SOS records show.

Domestic violence conviction in Minnesota

Miller's conviction from Hennepin County stems back to May 2016, when an argument with a girlfriend he lived with in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, turned violent, according to Minnesota court records.

Miller pulled a gun on the woman and said "I'll kill you b----" after becoming upset with her, according to a verdict and factual findings document. Miller punched the woman, and at some point, choked her, the verdict said.

Miller, who was sentenced to 180 days in the Hennepin County Workhouse adult corrections facility, later told the judge he did not appear to serve his sentence because he fled to Iowa after he was shot in front of his family, according to a letter he wrote to the judge that was corroborated by his attorney.

In Des Moines he got involved in local politics, attended classes at Des Moines Area Community College, and began going to therapy, the letter said.

"While in Iowa I did change my life around," Miller said in the letter.

He served his confinement in 2021, court records show.

In a statement to the Register, Miller said he believes he was wrongfully convicted of the crime.

"The criminal justice system has racial disparities and sometimes creates situations where the innocent are guilty and the guilty are innocent," Miller wrote. "I got involved in politics to help reduce these disparities and to fight against the conditions that produce crime. I have made mistakes, but my past doesn't define me — the current work I do uplifting the community does."

Court records show Miller also has a second-degree assault - dangerous weapon felony conviction from 2008 in Hennepin County. Miller said the case initially started out in juvenile court.

Miller described a scene where he defended his family against young people in gangs. He said the incident happened in 2006 when he was 15 years old.

"Six kids who were in gangs came to my mother's home with baseball bats and my sister and niece (were) in the house," he wrote. "They threatened to attack me and my family and I grabbed my grandfather's shotgun and I told them to leave."

Minnesota does not have a stand-your-ground law, Miller added.

Miller falsely accuses former East High School principal of sending him racist texts

In a separate incident in Iowa, Miller, in October 2021, was issued a criminal trespass order that bans him from returning to East High School, according to the school district.

The order, which Roeder said was put in place related to a "disturbance" at the high school, came around the same time Miller made claims that the former high school principal threatened his job in a text message that included a racial epithet.

More: Former East High School principal did not send racist text messages, Des Moines police say

At the time, Miller worked at East High School as a restoration facilitator, as previously reported by the Des Moines Register. The facilitators are part of the district's move away from using police officers as school resource officers in school buildings.

The former principal, Leslie Morris, who later resigned, denied the accusations she sent that text and similar text messages to school staff. Des Moines police later determined the accusations were unfounded.

Morris later filed a report with Des Moines police alleging harassment. The Polk County Attorney's Office did not find sufficient evidence to warrant harassment charges and police closed the investigation.

Miller's no-trespass order is still in place and is specific to East High, not district-wide, Roeder told the Register in a statement.

Miller, who said the order stemmed from a "disagreement" between him and Morris, says he's been able to stay active in mentoring youth and engaging with students despite the order.

"Since then, I have been heavily active in the DMPS high schools and middle schools and helped create forums and youth town halls to give students a voice," he wrote in a statement. "I have also mentored at-risk students through my nonprofit."

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: RJ Miller, Ward 1 candidate, has criminal convictions, East High ban