Federal prosecutors in Boston have charged a 41-year-old Massachusetts man with cyberstalking conservative podcaster Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. John Anthony Proia III was arrested on Thursday after authorities alleged he targeted the family with more than 40 menacing communications.
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Waltham Man for Cyberstalking
John Anthony Proia III of Waltham was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon following an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Boston. The Department of Justice charged Proia with one count of cyberstalking after investigators traced a sustained barrage of telephone calls and text messages sent between August 3 and September 23. Proia made his initial appearance in federal court at 5 p.m. Thursday.
During the arraignment hearing, Proia pleaded not guilty to the cyberstalking charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson also restricted Proia’s travel to Massachusetts, directed him to continue mental health services, and ordered him to undergo random drug testing.
Proia Used VoIP Applications to Hide Caller Identity
Federal prosecutors detailed a campaign of harassment that utilized modern technology to obscure the caller’s identity. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Proia used an ever-changing series of unfamiliar phone numbers generated through Voice Over Internet Protocol applications. These tools allowed the sender to bypass caller ID blocks and rapidly generate fresh numbers for daily and late-night calls. Leah Foley, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, stated that those who attempt to anonymize their criminal conduct using such technology will not be shielded from accountability.
The communications extended beyond the podcaster to target her parents with profanity-laden messages. Charging documents state that Proia contacted the parents, using derogatory terms and questioning the family’s upbringing. In one specific text message to the victim’s father, Proia allegedly wrote: Hey [first name of victim’s father], how goes it? Hope your daughter marrying a Jewish Nazi/white supremacist is working out for you and. Did you raise her to be trash or did that just happen naturally?
As alleged in the Indictment, the defendant repeatedly and relentlessly targeted the victim, her husband and her family with deeply disturbing communications that profoundly disrupted their lives.
U.S. Attorney Leah Foley
FBI Washington Field Office Personnel Dispute
The federal arrest follows an internal leadership shakeup at the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Michael Burgwald, special agent in charge of counterterrorism matters, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were removed from their leadership positions and reassigned to bureau headquarters. Both officials had years of national security experience, with Rae previously helping to oversee the FBI’s response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Investigators originally assigned to the case at the field office concluded that the reported calls did not meet the threshold required for an FBI investigation because no connection to terrorism was identified. That preliminary assessment frustrated senior bureau leadership, including FBI Director Kash Patel, and White House officials. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis added that the Miller family had never met or interacted with Burgwald or Rae.
Darren Cox, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, subsequently issued a public statement clarifying that FBI Director Kash Patel did not order the ouster. The Justice Department and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the internal personnel moves.
Previous Security Incidents Involving the Miller Family
The cyberstalking case marks at least the second time Katie Miller has asked the FBI to investigate alleged threats.
That local investigation concluded earlier in the year after Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti filed court documents stating that evidence gathered from a search warrant failed to support criminal prosecution under state coercion and harassment statutes. In the current federal matter, if convicted on the single count of cyberstalking, Proia faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Katie Miller, who served as an adviser and spokesperson for the Department of Government Efficiency until May 2025, expressed her gratitude to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, Attorney General Todd Blanche, and the FBI Washington Field Office for their work in the case.