Virginia Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Activist Who Posted Stephen Miller's Address on Fliers

An activist who protested outside the home of White House adviser Stephen Miller and handed out fliers with his Virginia address will not face state criminal charges. Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti determined there was no probable cause.

In a 166-page court filing, Dehghani-Tafti said she reviewed evidence against Barbara Wien and found nothing in the search warrant proceeds to support prosecution for violating a state law. That law makes it a misdemeanor to use someone's identity or address to coerce, intimidate or harass.

"It would neither accomplish the ends of justice nor discharge the Commonwealth's ethical obligations of fair prosecution to initiate any charges," she wrote. She added that charging Wien for protesting Trump administration policies would likely violate her First Amendment free speech rights.

Wien, a former college professor and longtime political activist in Arlington, Virginia, has been under state investigation since last year. She distributed the fliers last August and September. They showed Miller on a "Wanted" poster for "crimes against humanity" and included his Arlington address plus a QR code urging people to demand a congressional investigation.

A second flier in the neighborhood called Miller the "alt-right extremist behind Trump's most abhorrent policies, Project 2025 and your new neighbor in Arlington, Va."

Dehghani-Tafti noted the wanted flier called for no action at or near Miller's residence or against him personally. "The sole call to action was to a traditionally and clearly protected political activity, encouraging residents to petition Congress to investigate Mr. Miller's actions based on the wanted flyer's allegations," she wrote.