What We Know So Far About Man With Loaded Gun Arrested Near Trump’s Coachella Rally

A 49-year-old Nevada man was arrested at a security checkpoint near former President Donald Trump's Coachella rally on Saturday, Oct. 12, after he was found with guns, several IDs with different names, and fake VIP credentials, the Riverside County sheriff's office said on Sunday.

The man, identified by authorities as Vem Miller, was in a black SUV when he was stopped shortly by deputies assigned to Trump’s rally at a checkpoint in the Coachella Valley just before 5 p.m. local time, per an online statement from the sheriff’s office. Authorities found he illegally possessed firearms, and he was taken into custody and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center. Miller was released the same day on a $5,000 bail.

In a Sunday press briefing, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said an investigation is ongoing. “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.”

Miller called the claims “complete bullsh-t” in a more-than-hour long video statement posted to the alt-tech video platform Rumble on Monday and said he was there on a special invite from local Republican leaders. “They're on this frankly idiotic notion that I was there to cause harm,” he added.

Here’s what we know so far about Miller.

A Republican who ran for office

In his statement on Rumble, Miller said that he does not align with any political party and described himself as more of a Libertarian. But he also said he was involved with the Republican Party in Nevada as early as 2000. Local paper the Press-Enterprise says he has a master’s degree from UCLA, and, according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, he unsuccessfully ran for state assembly in Nevada’s District 13 as a Republican in 2022.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2022, Miller said he was inspired to run for office because “this country has been taken over by tyranny.” Miller told the Review-Journal that if elected, he would focus on alleged voter fraud, a common talking point on the right.

Read More: How Republicans Are Selling the Myth of Rampant Voter Fraud

Carried multiple IDs

Miller claimed to Fox News Digital on Sunday that “none” of the IDs and passports found in his car were fake. He added that he is Armenian and some documents use his full Armenian name.

Links to the “sovereign citizen” movement?

Bianco said Miller’s vehicle was unregistered, with a homemade license plate that was “indicative” of affiliation with the “sovereign citizen” movement—described by the FBI as “anti-government extremists” who believe they aren’t subject to government authority.

Miller has denied this claim. “That's a nonsensical statement,” he said in his video statement. “I am not anti-government.”

A Trump supporter

Miller, speaking to The Press-Enterprise, said he was “shocked” by his arrest and the accusation that he would harm Trump, since he is a supporter of the former President. Miller told the outlet that he is a Trump “caucus captain” who went to the Coachella Valley event upon a special invitation from the head of Clark County’s Republican Party. He said he wore a Trump hat and shirt to attend the Coachella rally, and argued that he had a “special entry pass.”

In his Monday statement, Miller said he was an “all-in” supporter of Trump since 2018. His 2022 bid for public office was “inspired by the work of President Trump and his courage,” he added.

An Instagram account belonging to a Vem Miller shows a variety of selfies with prominent conservative figures such as former White House Chief Strategist and Trump advisor Steve Bannon and former Trump aide Stephen Miller. There is also a selfie with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the race and is now backing Trump.

A media practitioner

According to Bianco, Miller claimed at an outside perimeter within the event that he was a journalist and that he had “VIP status” and was thus allowed entry to the Coachella rally. But it was within the inside perimeter where there are tighter security controls that Miller was arrested.

Miller said in his statement that he has been working in media since 1994 and has an extensive history as director and producer of commercials, TV shows, and music videos.

A LinkedIn page with the name Vem Miller, located in Las Vegas, states that the page owner is partner and co-founder of the The America Happens Network, a media production company with the tagline “Rage Against the Mainstream Media” and featuring content related to the political right. The page also reads: “For 20 years +, I have been working in the media as an investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker, and a content producer.”

In a post on Instagram, Mindy Robinson, who called Miller her “good friend and business partner for America Happens,” said that “there isn’t a universe his intention was to kill Trump.”

“I stand by Vem Miller… and I will get to the bottom of this bullsh-t,” she added.

Why was he carrying guns?

Miller, in his Rumble statement, said he bought a Glock and a shotgun in 2022 for protection because of death threats he received in his line of work. “I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck,” he also told Fox News Digital.

Miller said that he told a deputy at the rally checkpoint that he lawfully carried guns purchased in Nevada and was then asked to step out of his vehicle and handcuffed. Under California law, carrying a loaded firearm is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. “The critical mistake that I made was forgetting the location that I was in,” he said.

According to the sheriff’s office online inmate database, Miller was booked for possessing a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine. He is currently out on bail and is scheduled to appear at Indio Larson Justice Center on Jan. 2.