Vem Miller is a registered Republican who attempted to present fake VIP credentials at a Trump rally on Saturday when he was instead arrested on illegal firearms charges.
The 49-year-old Las Vegas resident describes himself on LinkedIn as an “investigative journalist” and is the co-founder of what appears to be a fringe far-right website that promises to “rage against the mainstream media.” “.
On Saturday, the Riverside County sheriff said Miller was “probably” looking to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
But a source close to the Trump campaign downplayed the threat, telling DailyMaill.com that there was no assassination attempt.
Zem Miller, 49, was arrested Saturday near Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella, California, after firearms and high-capacity magazines were discovered in his car during a search at a checkpoint.
Miller was detained at a checkpoint near the former president’s rally in Coachella, California, on Saturday. Police found a shotgun, a high-capacity magazine and a loaded handgun in his vehicle.
He was arrested, but on Sunday he posted bail and was released.
According to a still-active Facebook page and his LinkedIn profile, Miller is running for assemblyman in Nevada’s 13th district in 2022.
Through his work as a “content producer,” Miller says he “learned a lot about politics and how the world of politics is run, often to the detriment of We The People.”
His goal, he says on LinkedIn, is to “restore our constitutional rights, including 2A,” which refers to Second Amendment rights to own firearms, and “stop voter fraud.”
Miller is a Las Vegas resident, Second Amendment advocate and self-described investigative journalist. The registered Republican appears here with Jacob Chansley, known as QAnon Shaman after his image went viral of him in Viking garb at the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
At his outdoor rallies, Donald Trump speaks behind a more obvious perimeter of bulletproof glass since the assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Pictured: Trump at his rally in Coachella, California, on October 12, 2024.
Vem Miller is running for a Nevada assembly seat in 2022, according to Facebook and his LinkedIn profile
‘This incident did not affect the safety of former President Trump or those attending the event,’ the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office insisted in a statement.
But Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told Southern California News Group: “We probably stopped another assassination attempt.”
Bianco, a known Trump supporter, told the outlet that Miller presented fake VIP and press passes at the checkpoint, which is what led to the search.
He will hold a press conference to inform the public about the incident at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday.
Miller was found to be in illegal possession of firearms, magazines and ammunition when police searched his black SUV on Saturday.
He was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center, posted his $10,000 bail ($5,000 for each of the two misdemeanors he was charged with) and, as of Sunday, was no longer in custody.
Miller has his next court appearance scheduled for January 2.
“There was no assassination attempt in California yesterday,” a source close to the Trump campaign told DailyMail.com. “A man at a perimeter checkpoint had a gun but there was no incident.”
The latest comes as Trump’s protection team remains on high alert following two assassination attempts on the former president.
Miller posted an image with 2024 independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his Instagram profile.
Vem Miller says he has more than 20 years of experience as an “investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker and content producer” and co-founded the far-right fringe website America Happens.
Thousands of people attended Trump’s campaign rally in Coachella, California, on Saturday.
The first came at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, hit Trump in the right ear before being shot dead by the Secret Service. The would-be assassin killed one rally attendee and seriously wounded two others with his rifle while crouched a few hundred feet from where Trump was speaking that day.
Then, just two months later, on August 15, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested in Florida when he fled the scene where he was shot by the Secret Service.
Routh allegedly pointed a rifle at Trump while he played golf at his club in West Palm Beach before the former president’s security team spotted the barrel of the firearm and deterred a second assassination attempt.
Police snipers perched watching Trump rally at Calhoun Ranch on Saturday, October 12
