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The founder and former pastor of the now-shuttered Solid Rock church has filed civil lawsuits against ten individuals in Horry County, South Carolina – including one pleading filed against a protester he is accused of assaulting in November.
Pastor John-Paul Miller‘s name has become familiar to international audiences following the suspicious death of his wife, Mica Francis Miller, on April 27, 2024. In fact, the saga received much of its initial oxygen owing to the bizarre way in which Miller announced his wife’s death at the end of a sermon the following day.
Since that time, the embattled religious leader has seen protesters swarm his church – and on November 1, 2024 his home was searched by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of “interstate domestic violence.”
To recap: Mica’s body was found with a gunshot wound to the head at 4:23 p.m. EST on April 27, 2024 at North Carolina’s Lumber River State Park – a sprawling 14,000-acre wilderness located roughly an hour’s drive northwest of Myrtle Beach. Her body was found a short time after she placed a call to 911 asking the operator to pinpoint her location – stating she was “going to kill herself” and wanted her family to be able to find her body. Mica had traveled to this remote location from Myrtle Beach earlier that day, and her body was discovered by police in a swampy area approximately forty meters from where spent shell casings and her belongings were recovered.
Mica died less than 48 hours after serving her husband with divorce papers.
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On April 28, 2024 – less than twelve hours after being notified of Mica’s death – John-Paul Miller delivered a sermon at Solid Rock which closed with a bizarre announcement of her passing. Miller told congregants not to discuss Mica’s death as they departed the church.
Mica’s death was officially ruled a suicide by North Carolina investigators and medical examiners, but the bizarre manner in which her husband revealed it – and subsequent allegations of harassment and abuse leveled against him in multiple court filings and previous 911 calls – have raised doubts.
On Friday, January 10, 2025, John Paul Miller filed a barrage of lawsuits against numerous individuals using the address of the newly formed Mercy Church Ministries – 4869 Highway 17 Bypass. This phalanx of newly-filed complaints was “archived” according to the Horry County public index, meaning documents associated with the filings are not currently available online.
In addition to going through official channels, FITSNews has reached out to sources close to John-Paul Miller in the hopes of obtaining copies of the lawsuits.
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When paperwork for Mercy Church Ministries was filed with the S.C. Secretary of State’s office on November 18, 2024, the registered agent was Mollie Fleming – John-Paul Miller’s maternal grandmother. The initial address used for the incorporation did not exist.
Since then, three notices have been filed changing the registered agent for the religious nonprofit organization. The latest change was filed this Tuesday (January 7, 2025) – listing the registered agent as a Charleston, S.C.-based company called “South Carolina Registered Agent, LLC.”
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Friday’s lawsuits were filed against a group of content creators, protesters and other individuals who have been active in the ‘Justice for Mica’ movement, including: Melissa Pfeiffer, Jan Lancaster, Kenn Young, Courtney Anne, Samuel A. Rickman, Sandra Kay Caron, Tracy Hermes, Alexandra Cuozzo, Kyler Marlowe, and Anne Plaggenborg.
Marlowe and Plaggenborg live out of state, yet their court summons documents list Myrtle Beach addresses. For Marlowe, the address given was the location of the Ultra Pulse Nightclub. The address used for Plaggenborg is a meeting site for Weight Watchers.
It is not immediately clear whether any of the individuals sued by Miller have been served with paperwork related to the civil actions.
This is not the first time Miller has engaged the legal process against his critics. Last September, he filed a defamation suit against a Grand Strand paralegal named Melissa Mancari for allegedly “proliferating false and harmful claims” against him on social media.
That case is still pending…
FITSNews is continuing to follow this story and will bring our audience any pertinent developments as soon as they become available. As we investigate every possible angle of the Mica Francis Miller story, anyone with information is encouraged to contact research@fitsnews.com.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Callie Lyons is a journalist, researcher and author. Her 2007 book ‘Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal’ was the first to cover forever chemicals and their impact on communities – a story later told in the movie ‘Dark Waters.’ Her investigative work has been featured in media outlets, publications, and documentaries all over the world. Lyons also appears in ‘Citizen Sleuth’ – a 2023 documentary exploring the genre of true crime.
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1 comment
This guy doesn’t appear to be playing with a full deck. He is down right creepy! I don’t know how anyone would go to any church in which he is involved. I think there should be a change in the law regarding non-profits, especially churches. I am a Christian and a faithful church supporter at a well established church and have been for almost 50 years. It isn’t right that someone can call themselves a pastor and have a hand full of “followers” and be tax exempt. Some of these people seem to know every angle in order to scam the system. They give real churches a bad name, sadly. I so hope that the truth comes to light and this group is exposed for what they likely truly are opposed to a real church. Callie, please continue to push this story. Evil needs to be exposed.