Man arrested near SoCal Trump rally denies intent to harm former president
COACHELLA, Calif. (KABC) -- The man who was arrested trying to enter a Trump rally in Coachella allegedly with loaded weapons, fake license plates and multiple passports is speaking out about his arrest, saying he had no intent to harm the former president.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has said deputies who prevented Vem Miller from entering the event "probably" stopped a "third assassination attempt."
But Miller, a 49-year-old from Las Vegas believed to be associated with a "Sovereign Citizens" group, released a video in which he said he was a Trump supporter who had been to other campaign events and had even met the former president's sons.
"They literally created hundreds of millions of dollars of liability slandering my name as a potential assassin," Miller said in the video. "That is just absolutely insane."
He said he didn't realize he wasn't allowed to bring guns to the event.
"I've never been to a shooting range and I haven't shot these guns. But purely for protection I bought these guns."
"The critical mistake I made is I guess forgetting the location I was in. That I was in California."
At a checkpoint outside the rally Saturday, deputies made contact with the driver of a black SUV prior to Trump's arrival in the area.
They allegedly found the driver in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine as well as the passports and fake license plates.
Miller was arrested on two weapons violations and released on $5,000 bail. He has not been charged with any federal crimes and the Secret Service has said Trump was not in any immediate danger.
Bianco, however, said the circumstances of Miller's arrest and the items found in his car indicated the possibility of harmful intent.
"If you're asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt," the sheriff said at a Sunday news conference.
Bianco spoke to ABC7 on Monday and repeated that assertion.
"I do believe that. What my deputy found was an unregistered vehicle with fake license plates, a person with multiple IDs, including multiple passports from different countries, and weapons in a car trying to get into a Trump rally. That in and of itself is completely not normal."
He says his deputies acted properly, especially given the criticism that local law enforcement and the Secret Service faced after the attempt on Trump's life at a July rally in Pennsylvania. In that incident, the shooter was able to get close enough to fire a rifle from the roof of a building near where the former president was speaking. The Secret Service fatally shot the gunman.
On Sept. 22, a man was arrested after the Secret Service allegedly saw him pointing a rifle from shrubbery on the West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course where Trump was playing.
"Does anyone believe that I was supposed to just let all of these people into that event with guns and that was gonna be OK?" Bianco said. "When we saw what happened and law enforcement was truly bashed before - I felt sorry for them - for allowing a person in with a gun. How can that possibly happen? I did exactly what I was supposed to do, in my team planning this event and making sure it was safe."
Who is Vem Miller?
Miller is scheduled to appear at the Indio Larson Justice Center on Jan. 2, according to the department's inmate database.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Bianco said deputies detained the suspect at a second checkpoint after they noticed that the interior of his vehicle "was in disarray," that the vehicle had a fake license plate and the suspect had "multiple" fake passports and fake driver licenses with different names.
The sheriff said the vehicle's phony license plate was indicative that Miller was a member of the so-called Sovereign Citizens group, who do not believe they are subject to any government regulations, including those for guns and vehicles.
According to Bianco, both guns in Miller's possession were unregistered, and he had multiple boxes of ammunition for both weapons.
Bianco doubled down on his earlier assertion that he believes "We probably stopped another assassination attempt."
The Southern California News Group described Miller as a registered Republican who holds a master's degree from UCLA and ran for state Assembly in Nevada in 2022.
Bianco told SCNG earlier Sunday that he believes Miller planned to kill Trump, and that deputies arrested him after Miller presented fake VIP and press passes at the checkpoint.
"They were different enough to cause the deputies alarm," Bianco said.
According to the sheriff's department, the incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event. Anyone with additional information about the suspect was encouraged to contact Deputy Coronado at 760-836-1600.
Bianco said further potential charges against Miller would be up to federal authorities, and said the department had engaged with the Secret Service and the FBI.
The U.S. Attorney's Office issued the following statement Sunday afternoon:
"The U.S. Attorney's Office U.S. Secret Service, and FBI are aware of the Riverside County Sheriff's Office's arrest on Saturday. The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger. While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing. The U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Secret Service, and FBI extend their gratitude to the deputies and local partners who helped ensure the safety of last night's events."
Trump had not commented on the arrest as of Sunday.
"A beautiful evening in Coachella, California last night. Thank you!" the former president posted on social media, along with a video of the crowd at the rally.
City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.
