Crime & Safety
Vegas Man Arrested At RivCo Trump Rally Pleads Not Guilty
Police allegedly found Miller in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine at the Oct. 12 rally.
INDIO, CA — A Las Vegas man arrested at a Donald Trump rally in Coachella last year was not present in court Thursday, with his attorney pleading not guilty to a pair of charges on his behalf.
Vem Miller's attorney, Angela Friedrichs, entered the not guilty pleas to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place and an additional count of driving or parking a vehicle without evidence of registration, according to Thalia Hayden of the Riverside County District Attorney's office and case records.
The defendant is due in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 11.
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Miller, 49, was arrested Oct. 12. Riverside County sheriff's deputies assigned to the rally contacted the driver of a black SUV, later identified as Miller, at a checkpoint near the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive before Trump's arrival, sheriff's officials said.
They allegedly found Miller in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine.
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At a news conference the next day, Sheriff Chad Bianco said deputies detained the suspect at a second checkpoint after they noticed the interior of his vehicle "was in disarray," claiming that the vehicle had a fake license plate and the suspect had "multiple" fake passports and fake driver licenses with different names.
The sheriff said the vehicle's license plate, which he called "homemade," was indicative that Miller was a part of a "sovereign citizens" movement, whose followers do not believe they are subject to any government regulations, including those for guns and vehicles. Miller later "flatly denied" that, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Bianco also asserted that he believed "We probably stopped another assassination attempt," referring two other recent attempts on Trump's life, despite Miller's claim that he was not there to harm the former president.
In comments to Southern California News Group, Miller said he supports Trump and only had the guns for protection.
"I'm an artist, I'm the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody," Miller told the newspaper group.
Miller later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in Nevada against Bianco and some deputies, alleging defamation of character.
—City News Service
