'Insane Theory That I Was There To Cause Harm': Trump Rally Arrestee Speaks Out

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The man characterized by police as a “lunatic” and potential would-be assassin has spoken out and intends to take legal action after he was arrested with multiple guns in his vehicle while trying to enter former president Donald Trump’s rally Saturday in the Coachella Valley.

In a 75-minute video recorded in a motel room after the incident, Vem Miller outlined his political values and accused law enforcement of lying to the public by publicizing an "insane theory that I was there to cause harm."

"Everything you’ve heard coming from these police departments is an absolute lie," Miller said in the lengthy video, in which he expounded on his professional and political history, while also mentioning cancel culture, "conspiracy truthers," and the benefits of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine during the "so-called" pandemic. "What they did was a gross violation of our constitutional rights."

The video was published on The America Happens Network, where Miller is a partner.

According to police, Miller, 49, had a shotgun, a handgun, a high-capacity magazine and multiple boxes of ammunition when deputies made contact with him. The firearms were not registered and Miller was taken into custody and later booked into county jail for possessing a loaded gun and high-capacity magazine, police said.

He was released Saturday on $5,000 bail and was scheduled to appear Jan. 2 in court, according to an inmate database. Riverside County authorities were working with the Secret Service and FBI, and any additional charges would come from the federal government, Sheriff Chad Bianco said Sunday.

At a press conference Sunday, Bianco said he believed his deputies "prevented another assassination attempt." Saturday's events followed assassination attempts that targeted Trump at a rally in July and at one of his golf courses in September.

Miller was driving a black SUV at a checkpoint at Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive when deputies assigned to the rally made contact with him just before 5 p.m. Saturday, according to police, who said the incident did not affect Trump's safety or the safety of event attendees.

Miller was intercepted when he reached the inner perimeter for the rally, according to Bianco. His vehicle was unregistered and in disarray with an "obviously fake license plate," and it contained multiple passports and driver's licenses under different names, Bianco said.

Bianco said Miller identified as a sovereign citizen, a member of a far-right group that doesn’t believe in government control.

In the video, Miller denied being part of any such group, instead characterizing himself as a Libertarian and a "hard-core patriot" who supports Trump and is passionate about protecting freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the Second Amendment.

Miller said he ran for office in Nevada as a Republican in 2022 and has been involved in supporting the Trump campaign, including as a caucus captain, and that he has attended many Trump rallies and events, evening meeting the former president, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. He said he previously supported former president Barack Obama, but had a "political awakening" in 2015.

When he arrived at the parking area for the rally Saturday, he told law enforcement he had two guns in his trunk, he said, noting in the video that he bought the weapons after receiving death threats in 2022 but had never fired them. He had disclosed the firearms at previous Trump rallies in more politically conservative states, so did not expect they would be an issue, he said.

This time, he said, he was handcuffed, put in the back of a hot police car and denied his phone call. The deputy who arrested him referred to him as "a maggot" and "one of those dumb Trump people," Miller said.

"At this point it becomes very clear that this arresting officer’s goal was to make an example of a Trump supporter, was to persecute a Trump supporter, having nothing to do with the law," Miller said, adding, "This is going to turn into a major lawsuit."

Bianco, who attended the Trump rally himself, said Sunday the arrest was not political.

"I couldn’t care less what political party he belongs to; I honestly, I think that’s the stupidest thing in the world that we have to label something and we’re labeling this as politics," the sheriff said. "He was a lunatic."

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement Sunday its investigation into the matter was ongoing.

Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler, Penn., on July 13 by a man who was subsequently killed by authorities. On Sept. 22, a man was arrested after the Secret Service allegedly saw him pointing a rifle from shrubbery on the West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course where Trump was playing.