A man armed with guns and fake passes were arrested on Saturday outside Donald Trump’s Coachella rally site at the last minute, reports said citing the local sheriff. The suspect was caught about a mile from the rally venue with a phony-entry pass, according to police. He was also carrying a loaded shotgun, handgun and high capacity magazine. “We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, as quoted by New York Post.
The suspect has been identified as Vem Miller who was carrying a fake press card and entry pass. He is believed to be a member of a rightwing anti-government organization and was plotting to kill Trump, the Sheriff said. “They were different enough to cause the deputies alarm,” Bianco said.
Miller is believed to be a member of a rightwing anti-government organization. A 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, Miller was arrested at a checkpoint driving a black SUV. There have been two attempts on Trump’s life and at the Coachella rally, Trump was speaking from behind the bulletproof glass.
Miller is a registered Republican who holds a master’s degree from UCLA, and who ran for state assembly in Nevada in 2022, a report said.
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.
He was released Saturday on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear at the Indio Larson Justice Center on Jan. 2, 2025, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department inmate database.
The Secret Service put out a brief statement saying it was aware 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,” the agency said.
On July 13, Trump was shot at by Matthew Crooks in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks was killed by the Secret Service. In September, Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested for attempting to kill trump at a golf course. Agents spotted the barrel and fired first.
