By Nate Raymond
BOSTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a Massachusetts man with cyberstalking the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, accusing him of repeatedly calling and texting her and sending vulgar messages to her and her parents.
Federal prosecutors in Boston secured an indictment charging John Anthony Proia III, 41, with cyberstalking a former political adviser and prominent figure in the Republican Party who is married to a high-level official.
The indictment did not identify the alleged victim by name. A person familiar with the matter confirmed she is Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster who is married to Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump's closest advisers.
"This behavior is criminal and will be treated as it should - with prosecution!" US Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a social media post on X.
Katie Miller reposted Blanche's message and thanked him.
A lawyer for Proia, of Waltham, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The investigation became public after two counterterrorism officials at the FBI's Washington Field Office were demoted and reassigned to lesser positions in the agency's Washington headquarters over issues related to the inquiry, sources familiar with the matter said.
Prosecutors said that from August 3 to September 23, Proia used multiple phone numbers to contact his alleged victim, often using expletives and speaking in a "menacing tone."
Prosecutors said he also sent text messages to phone numbers associated with Katie Miller's parents, including ones describing her husband as "evil" and a "Jewish Nazi/white supremacist."
"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," US Attorney Leah Foley in Massachusetts said.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
