Police catch man allegedly holding illegal gun near Trump rally in Coachella; the suspect claims to support the former president

Authorities in California announced that they had arrested former President Donald Trump earlier Saturday at a rally in California.

During a news conference Sunday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco provided an update on the suspect, Vem Miller, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident, who was found to be in illegal possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine.

Just before 5 p.m., Bianco said Miller drove up to the outer fence in a black SUV at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive and gave every indication he belonged there and was allowed to enter the gathering's VIP area.

Deputies conducted a thorough assessment of the arriving vehicles and immediately noticed certain irregularities that occurred with Miller.

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“All we know is that he showed up with multiple passports with different names. Unregistered vehicle with false license plate and loaded firearm. If you ask me now, I probably had deputies who prevented the third assassination attempt,” he added. Bianca said.

Bianco continued and said the deputy noticed the interior of the vehicle was “in quite a mess.” “The deputy also noticed that the vehicle had an obviously false license plate, which prompted our deputy to investigate further to determine why the individual was there and what he was doing.”

During the evaluation, Bianco said the deputy eventually found multiple passports with multiple names, multiple driver's licenses with different names, and that the vehicle was unregistered and the license plate “was what law enforcement would consider handmade and indicative of a group of people claiming to be “sovereign citizens”.

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Sovereign citizens believe they are outside the jurisdiction of the federal government and consider themselves exceptions to U.S. law. According to the Sovereign Citizens Movement website, they use a variety of conspiracy theories and lies to justify their beliefs and actions, some of which are illegal and brutal.

“I knew this would happen. I didn't care what political party he belonged to. Honestly, I think it's the stupidest thing in the world that we have to label something and call it politics. He was a madman. Indeed,” Bianco said of Miller.

“And from my point of view, in terms of law enforcement, that was indeed the case. This is the group. If in fact it turns out to be part of the Sovereign Citizens Group, it will certainly be considered a far-right group. from my personal belief, I wouldn't say it's a militant group. It is simply a group that does not believe in government and government control. They don't believe that the government and the laws apply to them one way or another, I didn't care that people were trying to do harm and thank God we prevented that,” Bianco continued.

Officials say Miller was taken into custody without incident and later booked into the John Paul II Detention Center. John J. Benoit for possession of a loaded firearm and a high capacity magazine.

In an interview with the Southern California News Group on Sunday, Miller said he was “shocked” that he was arrested and charged with trying to harm Trump, whom he supports.

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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“These accusations are complete bullshit,” Miller said. “I am an artist, I am the last person who could cause any violence or harm to anyone.”

Miller also said he was never told why he was detained. About eight hours after his arrest, Miller said he finally had a chance to call a lawyer and recounted his experience over the phone to an FBI agent and a Secret Service member who was there to question him. Deputies later told him the hearing had been canceled.

“I mean, as far as I'm concerned, at least 25,000 people walked past those deputies to that location with ID and not carrying a gun. So I'll just go from there,” Bianco said. . “I can tell you that none of the other people, probably the 50,000 people who showed up to this event yesterday, had multiple passports with different names and weapons on them.”

A source close to the Trump campaign also told Fox News' Bill Melugin and another told Fox News' Bryan Preston that they did not believe it was an assassination attempt on Trump.

In a previous statement, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said: “This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or the event participants.”