The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office announced it arrested a man outside of former President Donald Trump’s rally at Coachella.
“They were different enough to cause the deputies alarm,” Sheriff Chad Bianco told The Riverside Press Enterprise. “We probably stopped another assassination attempt.”
From the press release:
On Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 4:59 p.m., deputies assigned to former President Donald Trump’s rally in the Coachella Valley contacted the driver of a black SUV at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive. The male driver, identified as Vem Miller, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine. Miller was taken into custody without incident and later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine. This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event.
The VIP passes looked “different enough to cause the deputies alarm.”
Bianco told the publication that he belongs to “a right-leaning anti-government group” and “considers himself a so-called sovereign citizen, a group of people who do not believe they are subject to any government statutes unless they consent to them.”
The Riverside Press Enterprise reported that Miller has a master’s degree from UCLA. He is a registered Republican and “ran for state assembly in Nevada in 2022.”
Another man is under suspicion “after bomb-detecting dogs ‘repeatedly’ identified him as possibly dangerous.”
Bianco said they also found he had multiple phony passports and driver’s licenses.Miller, in an interview with Southern California News Group on Sunday, said he was “shocked” that he was arrested and accused of trying to harm Trump, who he supports.“These accusations are complete bull—t,” Miller said. “I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody.”Miller said he is a Trump caucus captain who received a special invitation to the Coachella Valley rally from the head of Clark County’s Republican Party. Donning a Trump shirt and hat, the 49-year-old said he reached a checkpoint prior to entering the event parking lot and told a deputy he was lawfully carrying firearms in his trunk – as a courtesy.
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