Vem Miller, Trump assassination suspect, denies murder plot

A man arrested with a loaded gun outside a Donald Trump rally in California has denied he intended to assassinate the former president.

Vem Miller, 49, of Las Vegas, was arrested at a checkpoint in the Coachella Valley on Saturday after he was allegedly found illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine. Miller also drove an unregistered vehicle with a homemade license plate and had multiple passports and driver's licenses with different names, authorities said.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told the Southern California News Group on Sunday that officials “likely stopped another assassination attempt.” There have been two suspected assassination attempts on Trump in the past few months. The former president suffered minor injuries after a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Trump was also the target of an apparent assassination attempt at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September, although no shots were fired at the Republican.

In a phone call with Fox News Digital, Miller, who was later released, said he was “100 percent a Trump supporter” and that he had no intention of shooting the former president at the Coachella Valley event.

“I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck,” Miller said. “I have literally never shot a gun in my life. I don't know anything about weapons. I’m more than a beginner.”

Two unnamed sources close to Trump's campaign told Fox News that they do not believe the Coachella Valley incident was an assassination attempt on the former president.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said Miller was taken into custody without incident on suspicion of possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high capacity magazine.

“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or those attending the event,” the department said in a statement.

In a joint statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Secret Service and FBI said the incident “had no impact on protective measures and former President Trump was not in danger.”

“While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation remains ongoing,” the statement continued.

“We thank law enforcement for securing the rally site and helping to ensure President Trump’s safety. “We are aware of news reports of the arrest and are currently monitoring the situation and gathering more information,” said Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director Newsweek.

Miller was released on $5,000 bail Saturday 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.

Newsweek has reached out to Miller's office, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and the FBI for further comment.

Miller told Fox News that he bought firearms for protection after receiving death threats as a result of his work in the media.

Miller founded the America Happens Network in 2007. The network produces a series of online shows and podcasts under the banner of “Rage Against Mainstream Media.”

Authorities said Miller tried to gain entry to the rally using fake press credentials. Miller denied that the passports, driver's licenses and passports he possessed were fake. He said he was Armenian and that some of his legal documents listed his full Armenian name.

He also said he used to be a Democrat and supported Barack Obama, but is “certainly more Republican now” and has been “completely” on Trump's side since 2018.

“This is a man I deeply admire because I was a closed individual in terms of my beliefs because I worked in Hollywood. When my politics started to change, I realized that Hollywood is a homogeneous community,” Miller told Fox News Digital.

Miller disputed suggestions from Bianco that he was affiliated with the Sovereign Citizens Movement, an anti-government movement whose followers believe they do not have to obey laws or pay taxes.

He also denied the sheriff's allegations that he was part of a right-wing extremist group.

“The government is an inanimate object, it's the individuals within the government that matter, so no, I'm not a part of that,” Miller said. “Are you saying that I am part of these right-wing anti-government groups? Why don't they call these groups by name? Because they don’t exist.”

Who is Vem Miller?

According to local reports, Miller is a registered Republican who graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.

He ran for the Nevada State Assembly in the 2022 election cycle but lost in the primary.

Through this experience I learned a lot about politics and how the world of politics is run, often to the detriment of We The People. I have seen our rights curtailed as the power of big government increases.

The 49-year-old describes himself on his LinkedIn page as an investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker and content producer with more than 20 years of experience.

“Through this experience I learned a lot about politics and how the world of politics is run, often to the detriment of We The People. “I have seen our rights taken away as the power of big government increased,” he wrote.

He hosts a podcast called Blood money on the America Happens Network, which he founded. The podcast's website says it focuses on “topics such as corruption, controversy and conspiracies – topics that the mainstream media does not address.”

Miller has not been charged with any federal crimes in connection with an alleged assassination attempt on Trump, although an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Bianco told the Southern California News Group that Miller's alleged possession of fake press credentials was enough to “alarm deputies.”

“We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” he said.

During a press conference, Bianco dismissed the claim that the claim that Miller planned to kill Trump could be “dramatic.”

Bianco said: “If you ask me now, I probably had deputies who prevented the third assassination attempt.”

“When we're so lost politically that we've lost sight of common sense and reality and reason that we can't say, 'Holy crap, why did he show up with all that stuff and loaded guns?' And people will accuse me of being dramatic? We have a serious, serious problem in this country. Because that is common sense and reason.

“I definitely didn't want to look back and say, 'I wish we had done something to prevent that shooting,'” he added. “None of us will really know what was going on in his head.”

Mindy Robinson, Miller's partner at the America Happens Network, denied suggestions that Miller wanted to have Trump assassinated.

“There is no universe in which his intent was to kill Trump. He has worked too hard in this movement to expose the Deep State and all the people who are against him,” Robinson posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.

“It also makes no sense why his passports are fake when we are both normally invited to these things as media.”