Apparent third Trump assassination attempt thwarted

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A man armed with guns and false press and VIP passes was apprehended by authorities at a campaign rally in California on Saturday being held by Donald Trump.

The suspect, identified as Vem Miller, was intercepted by police at a checkpoint about a half-mile from an entrance to the rally in Coachella Valley, California, soon before the rally began, police said Sunday.

“We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco said, adding that Miller was plotting to kill Trump.

Police said Miller was carrying a loaded shotgun, handgun and high-capacity magazine and is believed to be a member of a rightwing anti-government organization.

He holds a UCLA master’s degree, and in 2022 ran for Nevada state assembly. Bianco said Miller 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.

Bianco said Miller’s identity card was enough to raise suspicion with local rally security. “They were different enough to cause the deputies alarm,” he said, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Miller was booked for possessing a loaded firearm and a high capacity magazine – and was released after posting $5,000 bail, police records show.

“The incident did not impact the safety of former president Trump or attendees of the event,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

The Secret Service put out a statement saying it was appraised of the arrest: “The incident did not impact protective operations. The Secret Service extends its gratitude to the deputies and local partners who assisted in safeguarding last night’s events.”

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Sheriff Bianco told the outlet he had not expected a third attempt on Trump’s life, coming after a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July when Trump was grazed with an assassin’s bullet, and the arrest of man with a rifle hiding in the bushes near Trump’s Palm Beach golf course in September.

“I thought it’s not going to happen in Riverside county,” Bianco said. “We don’t have the same sicko issues and violent protests like they have in Los Angeles. We’re better than that. Go figure.”

Bianco also said the FBI is questioning another man after bomb-detecting dogs “repeatedly” identified him as possibly dangerous. That man was not allowed in the rally, Bianco said.

Miller is scheduled to appear at the Indio Larson justice center on 2 January 2025, according to the Riverside county sheriff’s department inmate database.

Interesting that an extreme right winger wanted to assassinate Trump. Or maybe he's in one of those off-the-charts "neither right nor left" extremist groups?


"Sovereign citizens" are not a single specific organization. The "sovereign citizen" thing started in a white nationalist group called the Posse Comitatus, back in the 1960's if I remember correctly, and then spread to lots of other groups and individuals, mostly but not necessarily extreme right wing.

More about them later.

Campaign splits with sheriff's assertion

The man arrested with firearms outside former President Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella Valley has been released on bail, and Trump’s campaign is now signaling it was likely not an assassination attempt.

Vem Miller, 49, was taken into custody Saturday after allegedly attempting to enter the rally with fake press credentials. He was charged with illegally possessing a handgun, a loaded shotgun, and a high-capacity magazine, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

He was released on $5,000 bail later that day and is scheduled to appear in court on January 2, 2025.

Two unnamed sources close to the Trump campaign told Fox News that they do not view Miller’s actions as an assassination attempt. In a joint statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Secret Service, and FBI confirmed that the incident did not compromise protective operations for the former president.

On Sunday morning, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, an open supporter of Trump, stated the incident was “probably” a third assassination attempt on the former President.

Miller, who claims to have never fired a gun, expressed confusion about the charges, telling Fox News, “I don’t know anything about guns. I am beyond a novice.”

He indicated that he purchased firearms for personal protection after receiving death threats linked to his work in the media.

“I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck,” Miller said. “I was just trying to protect myself, especially after the threats.”

Miller, a self-described 30-year media veteran and founder of the America Happens Network, said he identifies as a former Democrat who has shifted to supporting Trump.

“I thought Barack Obama was going to save us from needless wars and censorship, but my views have changed,” he told Fox News. He described himself as “all-in” for Trump since 2018, stating, “This is a man that I deeply admire,” and criticized the Hollywood community for its political homogeneity.

Miller also addressed the various identification documents he possessed, insisting that none were fake.

“None of those are fake,” he asserted, adding that his Armenian heritage requires different names on legal documents for safety reasons. “Using my full Armenian name could put me in danger,” he explained.

No federal charges have been filed,

“We thank law enforcement for securing the rally site and helping ensure the safety of President Trump,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director.

Miller, who claims to have never fired a gun, expressed confusion about the charges, telling Fox News, “I don’t know anything about guns. I am beyond a novice.”

He indicated that he purchased firearms for personal protection after receiving death threats linked to his work in the media.

“I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck,” Miller said. “I was just trying to protect myself, especially after the threats.”

The suspect arrested with two loaded guns outside a Trump rally in Coachella over the weekend said he planned to sue Riverside County after the sheriff claimed his deputies stopped the man from attempting to assassinate the former president.

The suspect arrested with two loaded guns outside a Trump rally in Coachella over the weekend said he planned to sue Riverside County after the sheriff claimed his deputies stopped the man from attempting to assassinate the former president.

Vem Miller, 49, told The Times in a phone interview Monday that he brought his two weapons to the rally for self-protection, saying he has received death threats in response to work he has done for his media company, the America Happens Network. He said that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco made false claims about him at a press conference over the weekend.

“Everything they said about me is untrue, provably so,” Miller told The Times. “Unfortunately, he appears to have committed career suicide.”

Miller added that he has lawyers preparing a “massive lawsuit” against the county. “As of right this second, I could prove everything they said is untrue. It’s just going to be bad. … That sheriff is going to lose his job.”

Bianco told reporters Sunday that his deputies “probably stopped another assassination attempt.”

But authorities investigating the armed man arrested Saturday outside a Trump rally in Coachella have found no evidence so far that he was planning to try to kill Trump.

Federal officials continue to investigate, but Miller remains free on $5,000 bail and the sources say so far the focus remains on the gun possession charge that led to his arrest on Saturday. Miller told The Times he was released without bail and that he merely received a ticket.

[...]

At a news conference Sunday, Bianco said his deputies had likely thwarted an assassination attempt, although he acknowledged “there is absolutely no way any of us are going to truly know what’s in [the suspect’s] head.”

But sources who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly said they have uncovered no evidence showing Miller intended to harm the former president. They stressed that the investigation remains ongoing and more facts could come in.

Vem Miller, 49, told The Times in a phone interview Monday that he brought his two weapons to the Trump rally for self-protection, saying he has received death threats.

Asked whether he was speculating by branding Miller a would-be assassin, Bianco said it was “common sense” to suspect that someone carrying guns and fake identification to a political rally intended to hurt people. But the sheriff offered no evidence of an assassination plot.

[...]

A friend who worked with Miller for the advocacy group America Happens also claimed Miller had no intent to kill the former president.

“There isn’t a universe his intention was to kill Trump, he’s worked too hard in this movement to expose the Deep State and all the people against him,” Mindy Robinson wrote on X.

“As a pro-2A advocate, ask me if I give a s— about a good guy with a gun in an unsafe s—hole like California. It doesn’t even make sense why his passes would be fake either when we’re both usually invited as media to these things.”