Man arrested with weapons near Trump rally in Coachella doubles down on support for ex-president

Vem Miller, the Las Vegas man arrested over the weekend on weapons charges before a Donald Trump rally in Coachella, presented himself Monday in a video posted on his website as someone who would rather salute than shoot  Trump

Miller, a 49-year-old Republican and former assembly candidate in Nevada, was arrested near the former president’s rally on Saturday on suspicion of illegally carrying a loaded firearm and possessing a large-capacity magazine when deputies found a handgun and shotgun in the car. He also had a phony license plate on his unregistered car that contained a pile of passports and driver’s licenses that listed others’ names, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said.

Those circumstances, as well as possession of a VIP pass that appeared to be fake, led Bianco to conclude that with Miller’s arrest before the rally, “We probably stopped another assassination attempt.”

Bianco said he and family members sat about 40 yards from Trump at the rally.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement Sunday that Trump “was not in any danger.” Asked Monday whether officials believe that because Miller was in handcuffs before the rally, or because the DOJ and Secret Service do not believe that Miller planned to attack Trump, DOJ spokesman Joseph McNally declined comment except that the investigation was ongoing.

Bianco said Monday that any new insights into Miller’s motives would have to come from federal officials.

Miller on Sunday told the Southern California News Group that he went to the rally to support Trump and not to assassinate him. Miller said he began carrying a Glock handgun and shotgun in his car in 2022 when he began receiving death threats for “peeling back the tyranny” in content on his “America Happens” website.

He said he had a special-access pass to Trump’s Coachella rally from a Republican organization in Clark County, Nevada. No one at the organization could be reached for comment Monday.

In response to his arrest, Miller on Monday posted an hourlong video to the website, AmericaHappens.com, that took viewers along on his political journey.

Miller said he created the America Happens Network in 2007 in response to “cancel culture 1.0.” The website offers documentaries, podcasts and news that “rage against the mainstream media.”

“I always knew we would go viral in a very big way and some of our episodes have been going viral, but I never thought the most explosive story would involve myself and the false statements that are currently circulating on the internet,” Miller says in the video.

Miller said he does not align himself 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 is plaguing our nation. President Donald Trump has been near and dear to our hearts because he is one of the few people to stand up to the tyranny against we the people.”

Miller appeared to further show support for Trump in an online video posted to his website where he listens as political operative Ivan Raiklin discusses a plan to install Trump as the winner of the 2020 presidential election by urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the Electoral votes from a state – – Arizona — won by Democratic candidate Joe Biden. 

If Pence were to similarly reject votes from other states that Trump lost, Raiklin says, that he would prevent either candidate from receiving the required 270 Electoral votes and place the decision in the hands of the House of Representatives, where the GOP-led House could choose Trump as president.

Miller appears to approve of the scheme.

Different circumstances

In Florida, Ryan Routh was ordered held without bail in September after being arrested on suspicion of weapons violations before he was charged with the attempted assassination of Trump at a golf course, where the Secret Service opened fire on him after spotting him with a rifle. Routh, prosecutors say, wrote a letter that said he wanted to kill Trump.

In Miller’s case, bail on the misdemeanor weapons accusations against him was only $5,000, and he was released less than four hours after being booked. He has not been charged with a crime.

Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who is now a professor of law at Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles, said it’s still possible that Miller could face federal charges.

His immediate release, Levenson said Monday, is “an indication by the feds that he didn’t pose an immediate threat but it’s something worth investigating. I think if you have pretty clear evidence of his intent, it’s easier to hold him. It’s harder to do on the inferences on what his intentions and conduct would be.”

Levenson added: “They are going to keep an eye on him. They are not going to deal with this lightly.”

She said that the Sheriff’s Department’s priority had to be ensuring Trump’s safety. But she cautioned that overstating the seriousness of what happened Saturday could erode trust in law enforcement.

“It’s not as simple as it appears,” Levenson said. “It could range from an attempted assassination to just someone who has his own opposition to society’s rules.”