The couple died after engaging responding officers in a shootout in Walmart; police shot and killed Jerad, while Amanda committed suicide after being wounded.
Initial reports inaccurately indicated that Amanda shot Jerad repeatedly in the chest after he had "laid down" in front of her, killing him, before committing suicide.
During a search at the Millers' apartment, papers that detailed plans to "take over a courthouse and execute public officials" were found.
[18] That same year, Jerad met Amanda Woodruff, with whom he applied for a marriage license in Tippecanoe County, Indiana in August.
[15] In February 2014, Jerad threatened a Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Indiana, claiming that he would start killing anyone who showed up to arrest him for having a suspended driver's license.
But after being confronted by police, Miller walked back his remarks and authorities found no probable cause for arrest at the time.
[16] He was described as often talking about conspiracy theories, dressing in camouflage, and espousing his hatred of the federal government and President Barack Obama.
[18]One month prior to the shooting, Jerad asked several other Facebook users to send him "a rifle to help stand against tyranny".
[17][19] Like Jerad, she had a Facebook account, in which she made multiple posts, including numerous photos depicting the Millers dressed as supervillains.
In another, he denounced the US government as being oppressive, especially criticizing their measures at gun control, surveillance, and their treatment of Cliven Bundy.
[2] Friends of the Millers reported that they idolized Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, and wanted to follow in their footsteps.
[10] The Millers supported the Patriot movement, a collection of various groups with a shared ideology for limited federal government.
According to Mark Potok, a spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center, there was no evidence that they belonged in a specific group, but that they considered the outcome of the standoff between Bundy and the BLM as "a huge victory against the federal government", which reportedly motivated them to commit the shooting spree.
[18] Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made a statement on the day following the shootings and commented about the Millers' presence on the Bundy ranch.
Senator Harry Reid, who had a staff member related to one of the victims, said, "All of Nevada mourns the tragic loss of our neighbors, our friends, and in the case of Officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo, our protectors" and called for universal background checks in the purchases of firearms.
[30] Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval released a statement, saying that he was saddened by the murders and called the shootings "an act of senseless violence".