A ‘third assassination attempt’ against Trump? Here’s what we know about California arrest

Did California’s Riverside County Sheriff’s Office thwart a "third assassination attempt" against former President Donald Trump?

That’s what Sheriff Chad Bianco said after a Las Vegas man was arrested on state weapons charges at a checkpoint outside former President Donald Trump’s Oct. 12 rally in Coachella Valley, California. 

Trump was shot in the ear at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, by gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was then killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter. After a second assassination attempt on Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh was indicted on charges he staked out Trump’s Florida golf course Sept. 15.

Federal authorities and the Trump campaign, as of Oct. 14, had not described the Oct. 12 incident as an assassination attempt, however. 

The suspect, Vem Miller, posted a lengthy Oct. 14 video statement vehemently disputing the sheriff’s statement and describing himself as a fervent Trump supporter who had previously been in close proximity to the former president at other rallies, even having spoken with Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, at events.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in an Oct. 13 press release that Miller was arrested Oct. 12 at a checkpoint near the Trump rally and was "illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine." It said he was "taken into custody without incident and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine. This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event."

Jail records show Miller was released the same day on $5,000 bond and is scheduled for a Jan. 2 court hearing.

The Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office released a joint statement Oct. 13 on X, saying that "while no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing." The Secret Service said it assessed the incident and that "Trump was not in any danger." 

PolitiFact contacted the Secret Service and a spokesperson referred us to the statement. The Justice Department did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement, "We thank law enforcement for securing the rally site and helping ensure the safety of President Trump. We are aware of news reports about the arrest and are currently monitoring the situation and gathering more information." 

Despite the federal officials not describing the incident as an assassination attempt, Bianco, the Riverside County Sheriff, doubled down on his assertion at an Oct. 13 news conference.

Bianco said Miller was driving a vehicle with "an obviously fake license plate" and that a deputy found "multiple passports with multiple names, multiple driver’s licenses with different names" and that his vehicle was unregistered. Biano said the license plate was "indicative of a group of individuals that claim to be sovereign citizens."

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes sovereign citizens as a group of people who believe that federal laws do not apply to them and justify their beliefs with conspiracy theories.

Miller, in his video statement, disputed that he was a sovereign citizen.

When a reporter asked about Bianco’s statement calling the incident a "third assassination attempt," Bianco replied that at first said he didn’t remember saying that. But then he doubled down on the assertion.

"No matter what, it's all going to be speculation about what his intentions were getting there. What we do know is he showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with fake license plate and loaded firearms," Bianco said. "If you're asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt."

The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a PolitiFact email asking if Bianco still believed it was an assassination attempt.

Miller is a former political candidate who came in third place in the 2022 Republican primary for a Nevada state assembly seat. His platform included restoring the Constitution and ending voter fraud. He ran because the U.S. was "taken over by tyranny," he told the Las Vegas Review Journal in May 2022.

He is a partner in The America Happens Network, which hosts news, shows, documentaries and podcasts. Its website states, "Rage against the mainstream media." 

Miller hosts the network’s "Blood Money" podcast — a show that says it "delves into topics of corruption, controversy and conspiracy — topics the Mainstream media will not touch." The show’s topics have included a discussion of the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an inside job, the dangers of vaccines and "the climate change BS."

In his video statement disputing the sheriff’s claims, Miller described himself as a former President Barack Obama supporter who went "all in on Trump" in 2018.

He said he was "inspired by the work of President Trump and his courage" to run for office.

Miller said he had a "special invite" from Nevada Republican Party officials to attend the Trump rally and that he carried weapons because he has received death threats because of his work at the America Happens Network. He said he has never fired the guns that he bought for protection.

He said he told police officers at the checkpoint that he had weapons in his vehicle’s trunk and that he was soon handcuffed and arrested. He said a Secret Service and a federal agent asked to speak with him at the jail but then didn’t after he asked to do so with his attorney present.

Miller’s social media pages back his claims that he’s a Trump supporter. His Facebook profile photo, added July 14, 2024, shows the widely circulated image of Trump raising his fist to the crowd after he was shot in Butler.

Miller also said he has attended other Trump rallies or private events involving the former president or his team. A March 2 Instagram post presumably filmed by Miller shows a Trump rally in Richmond, Virginia. A Feb. 8 Instagram post showed another Trump rally but it’s unclear where it was filmed.

Instagram posts show Miller posing at events with a number of people in Trump’s orbit, including former 2024 presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Trump supporter Vivek Ramaswamy; another post shows Donald Trump Jr. walking past.

Miller said that he met former President Trump on "multiple occasions," including for the New York City film premiere of a "Blade" vampire movie, a series from 1998 to 2024 that starred Wesley Snipes. "Spoke with him. He was definitely very cool," Miller said.

Staff Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.