The Las Vegas man arrested Saturday at a California campaign rally for former president Donald Trump released an online video statement Monday calling a local lawman’s claim that he posed an assassination threat “false and defamatory” and said he is a staunch supporter of the Republican nominee for President.
“I’m choosing to do it this way because, frankly, I’ve gotten a hundred calls in the hour and half since these false and defamatory statements have been released by the police authorities in this region,” Vem Miller, 49, said in the video.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told USA TODAY, however, that he stands by his comments and his department’s actions, and would handle the incident the same way if it happened tomorrow.
In the video he posted on video-sharing site Rumble, Miller said he backs Trump.
“In 2022 I ran for office in Nevada as a Republican,” Miller said. “Since 2000 I’ve been involved in the Republican Party in Nevada. I’m a Trump caucus captain. I’ve collected votes for Donald Trump, and I’m also a Trump team leader.”
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On that basis, Miller said, he decided to attend the Trump rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Riverside County, just outside Coachella, “after receiving a special invitation from members of the Nevada Republican Party.”
Republican Party officials in Nevada did not respond to USA TODAY’s requests for information about Miller’s statement that he was affiliated with the state Republican Party and invited to the rally. An official at the Clark County Republican Party also declined to comment.
In a telephone interview Monday evening, Bianco said the deputy who interacted with Miller acted impeccably. Miller gave off several warning signals, Bianco said, and ultimately brought weapons to a political event for a candidate who has already been twice targeted by would-be assassins.
“He’s in complete damage control, trying to minimize what he did and he’s definitely making completely false statements,” Bianco said about Miller’s statement. “There’s absolutely nothing that we could have done different.”
Miller said that when he arrived, he was told to go to a special entrance with parking. But prior to entering the parking lot area, he said, he let authorities at the checkpoint know that he had two firearms in the trunk of his car − a Glock handgun and a shotgun. He said he carries them “simply for protection.”
Miller was arrested at the vehicle checkpoint for illegally possessing a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine, local authorities said. He also had in his possession multiple − and apparently fake − passports bearing different names and was driving an unregistered vehicle with what authorities described as a handmade license plate, a practice used by members of the far-right anti-government sovereign citizens movement.
He was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, California, on misdemeanor charges and was released without having to post bail, Bianco said. He does not face federal charges, the Secret Service said in a statement Sunday.
“The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger,” the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office said in a joint statement. “While no federal arrest was made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”
Preventing ‘the third assassination attempt’
But Bianco, a staunch Trump supporter, speculated Sunday that Miller’s intention was to assassinate the former president.
“If you’re asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt,” said Bianco, who endorsed Trump’s presidential bid this summer.
In July, the Secret Service came under fire for allowing a 20-year-old gunman to climb atop a nearby roof and fire at least eight shots at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Trump was injured in the right ear, one rallygoer was killed and two others injured before the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter.
A month ago, federal authorities disrupted what they said was a second assassination attempt against Trump in Florida. Ryan Routh, 58, was arrested as he allegedly hid in the bushes with a rifle at a golf course where Trump was playing. He has pleaded not guilty to charges he attempted to assassinate Trump.
Bianco, who emerged in April as a potential contender for the California governor’s race in 2026, was at the rally when the latest incident occurred Saturday evening.
“I will be attending as I am responsible for the protection of the former president and all of the attendees, especially in light of recent events surrounding attempts on his life,” Bianco said in an email prior to the event. “Our residents should be assured they will be safe while attending the rally.”
Bianco said Miller approached the perimeter of the rally before the event started and falsely claimed to have VIP access as member of the press corps, which he was not. Deputies spotted a number of “irregularities” including a fake license plate, Bianco said, prompting additional investigation.
An assassination attempt? Not so fast.
On Monday, Miller said he was posting his lengthy video to contradict the claims made by Bianco, and to show his support for Trump.
In the video, Miller threatened to sue Bianco for his comments. He also identified himself as a partner in a conservative online media outfit called the America Happens Network. He has posted to his Instagram account numerous photos of him at events with Trump associates including Steve Bannon and Roger Stone.
“While we are currently and we have been … staunch supporters of President Donald Trump, we don’t align ourselves with any political party, except for one that supports our freedoms, our constitutional rights, our medical freedoms, and gets rid of the tyranny of corrupt politicians that has been plaguing our nation,” Miller said.
Miller said he thought his media company would go viral someday. But, he added, “I never thought that the most explosive story would involve myself and the false statements that are currently circulating across the Internet.”
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Miller added: “Everything they said about me is untrue, provably so. Unfortunately, he appears to have committed career suicide.”
Miller told The Times 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.”
Trump mentioned Bianco at the speech
During his speech Saturday, Trump lauded Bianco while acknowledging local officials, saying he “liked him from the moment I met him” and that Bianco “had the most beautiful family I’ve ever seen.”
“I said, ‘Sheriff, you’re great, but your family looks even better than you,’” Trump said, adding that Bianco pulled off the rally “because he’s tough and he’s smart and he’s proud of his state and his country.”
Contributing: Thomas Coulter, Kate Franco
