Former President Donald Trump met Adrianne Miller, a Wiregrass resident, in Montgomery on Friday over two years after he commuted her prison sentence for drug crimes on his last day in office in January 2021.
Miller, was in year seven of a 15-year sentence in 2021 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession of a list I chemical when she was released from prison due to Trump giving her clemency.
According to a press release from the Trump administration announcing the commuted sentence in 2021, “Miller, who has struggled with drug addiction, has fully committed to rehabilitation while in prison. In addition, she has taken numerous courses including drug education, life management, and has participated in the Life Connections Program, an intensive, multi-phase re-entry program offered by the Bureau of Prisons."
"She is extremely remorseful, regrets her 'destructive choices' and has taken full responsibility for her actions," the announcement added.
Since incarceration, she’s moved to the Wiregrass region of Alabama and is currently employed at Bobcat and in the process of purchasing her first home. She remains active in prison reform advocacy.
Miller said in a Monday interview with 1819 News that the experience of getting to meet the man who gave her a second chance at life was “amazing.”
“It happened at the last minute. I was on my way to Montgomery, and that’s when the (Trump) campaign called me,” Miller said. “Whenever the campaign people called me, they said he wanted to meet me personally. They said he was very interested in meeting me personally which blew my mind. He remembers me from Alice Johnson. Alice Johnson took my case directly to him when he was still in office and she told him all about me. So, he was familiar with my name and my story and who I was connected to.”
Miller started her 15-year sentence at the age of 36. She followed the advice of fellow inmate Alice Johnson, who received a pardon from Trump in 2020, about how to petition for clemency.
Trump was in Montgomery on Friday as the keynote speaker at the ALGOP’s Summer Dinner.
Miller said she spent about two hours on Friday mingling with other Alabama politicos in the VIP section waiting to meet Trump.
“Went back there and obviously I felt like a fish out of water because there were Congressmen and Senators back there,” Miller said. “I was hesitant to tell my story because they were way different than I was, but I did. I told my story and it ended up being very good conversations with people because they don’t know my story. They don’t know my side of things. I was able to mingle with them and talk to them. It was really cool to meet these people you see on tv all of the time.”
Eventually, a campaign staffer took her to Trump for a photo-op and introduction.
“He introduced himself, and we shook hands. He asked me about my success. I said I was very successful after incarceration. I thanked him. I told him all of the good things I’ve done since I’ve been out,” Miller said. “He just said, ‘Keep doing great things. Thank you for being a good role model for that cause.’ He said, ‘It’s people like you that make it easy for me to grant these kinds of things.’ He said keep in touch, keep doing great work, and we’re proud of you. I said, ‘OK, can I give you a hug?’ He said, ‘Absolutely’ and he gave me a big bear hug."
"It was pretty amazing and then I was able to watch him speak. He’s an amazing speaker,” she added.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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