Oakland City Council at-large member Rowena Brown was assaulted and robbed inside her apartment Saturday night by an acquaintance whom she had been supporting through a difficult period, her office said Thursday.
The acquaintance was identified in court records as Tae Millhouse, a music and live events promoter whom Brown appointed to an Oakland city commission earlier this year.
Millhouse was arrested Tuesday in Livermore and booked into Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of several felonies, including first-degree robbery, false imprisonment and assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury, according to Alameda County jail and court records.
According to court records, police responded Saturday night to a report of a battery at Brown’s apartment, where Millhouse was visiting.
Brown asked Millhouse to leave because of her “escalating behavior,” according to the records. As she was leaving, Millhouse allegedly punched Brown twice, causing her to fall to the ground. She then allegedly dragged Brown into the living room by her hair and pressed her knee on Brown’s neck.
Millhouse allegedly then put her hands around Brown’s neck and strangled her while continuing to press her knee into Brown, according to the records.
Brown eventually escaped and ran out of the apartment. She then saw Millhouse leave with her purse and two cellphones – a theft that was also captured by surveillance cameras, according to the court records.
On social media, Brown wrote that she had been supporting her alleged attacker “through a difficult time.”
Millhouse’s brother, Terrill Millhouse, 36, was shot and killed in East Oakland in November, the night before Thanksgiving. Police said that Terrill was in a dispute with his killer shortly before he was shot. Just last week, Oakland police released video footage of Terrill and the suspected shooter on the sidewalk shortly before the incident, asking residents for help identifying the man.
Though Brown’s post described her attacker as an “acquaintance,” Millhouse and Brown appear to have known each other since at least 2023. Millhouse’s social media shows her posing for a photograph with Brown at a Juneteenth party in 2023. The same post also shows her in photos posing with a number of other East Bay figures, including Oakland City Council President Kevin Jenkins and Assembly Member Mia Bonta, and speaking with Elaine Brown, a former Black Panther Party chair.
Brown also appears to have worked with Millhouse on some city initiatives. In January, she appointed Millhouse as a member of the city’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
In December, Millhouse also posted a photo of a letter signed by Brown that commemorated the life of Terrill and his contributions to Oakland’s community.
Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to a statement from Brown’s office, the council member sought medical treatment and was focused on recovering.
Her office thanked the Oakland Police Department for its quick response to the incident. According to the statement, police took a suspect into custody and were investigating.
“We ask that Councilmember Brown’s privacy be respected as she recovers,” her office wrote in the post.
In a post on social media, Mayor Barbara Lee said she had been “in touch with Councilmember Rowena Brown and she is well and recovering from her injuries as she continues to serve the residents of Oakland. I want to thank her friends, family, and OPD for their support during this period and ask that her privacy be respected at this time.”
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This article originally published at Oakland City Council member assaulted, robbed by acquaintance.