The armed suspect who was arrested on weapons charges on his way to Donald Trump's California rally over the weekend has denied the local police chief's allegation that he wanted to kill the ex-president, calling the accusations "bullsh-t."
Vem Miller, 49, reportedly claimed he's a Trump supporter a day after he was handcuffed on Saturday afternoon near the Coachella Valley rally at a checkpoint where police officers found a pair of guns and ammunition in his car.
Riverside County Sheriff, Chad Bianco said he "truly" believes his officers stopped a third assassination attempt against Trump but Miller told the Southern California News Group on Sunday he was "shocked" by the allegations.
"These accusations are complete bullsh-t," Miller told the news outlet. "I'm an artist, I'm the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody."
Miller, who is part of a far right anti-government group, said he was invited to the rally by the head of the Clark County GOP Party, and was donning a Trump shirt and hat when he ran into authorities at the checkpoint.
The weapons, a shotgun and loaded handgun, were bought in 2022 for personal protection, Miller told the local outlet.
He said he told deputies he was carrying the firearms in his trunk as a courtesy before he was pulled over and forced to leave the car. The car was then "ransacked" after a deputy informed him he wanted to make sure the guns were legal purchases, he claimed.
Miller, a registered Republican who ran unsuccessfully for office in Nevada in 2022, also denied he flashed a fake press pass at the checkpoint as the sheriff alleged but instead offered a "special entry pass," the outlet reported.
The man who lives in Las Vegas told the publication he was not informed why he was taken into custody, and only after he was detained for hours was he allowed to call a lawyer. He said he then recalled the incident while in front of FBI and Secret Service agents, who reportedly wanted to interview him.
Miller was hit with weapons charges for illegally possessing firearms and released on $5,000 bail. In his interview with the local publication, he said he wasn't aware of the difference between gun laws in California and his home state, Nevada.
He could face additional charges from federal law enforcement. But the Secret Service thinks it's unlikely Miller was trying to assassinate the 45th president.
"The US Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger," the agency and the FBI said in a joint statement.While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing."
But Bianco, the local sheriff, said common sense and reason indicate the suspect had Trump in his crosshairs.
"If you're asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt," he said, adding Miller had a cache of fake passports and driver's licenses at the checkpoint.
Miller also allegedly had a fake license plate and was driving an unregistered vehicle.
Bianco also said the suspect claimed he was a journalist and had VIP access to the Trump event, but could not produce the appropriate documents.
"If we are that politically lost that we have lost sight of common sense and reality and reason that we can't say that 'Holy crap, what did he show up with all of that stuff for and loaded guns?' and I'm going to be accused of being dramatic, we have a serious, serious problem in this country because this is common sense and reason," the sheriff said in response to a reporter's question if his statements had been dramatic.
Trump has been the target of two confirmed assassination attempts in just three months.
He was struck in the ear by a bullet from gunman Matthew Thomas Crooks in July during a Pennsylvania rally. And in September, Ryan Routh was accused of trying to kill the president as he hid along the perimeter of Trump's golf course in Florida with a gun before the Secret Service spotted him.
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