A man arrested after being found ‘illegally’ possessing several firearms while driving near a Donald Trump rally has spoken out on the ‘bulls**t’ accusations.
On Saturday (October 12), former President of the US Donald Trump held a rally in Coachella Valley, California.
A vehicle at a checkpoint near the rally raised suspicions among deputies assigned to the rally and the driver was later found to be ‘illegally in possession‘ of multiple weapons.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement deputies assigned to the rally made contact with ‘the driver of a black SUV at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive’, The Telegraph reporting the vehicle had a fake license plate and the driver fake VIP passes.
The sheriff’s department continued: “The male driver, identified as Vem Miller, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.
“Miller was taken into custody without incident and later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.”
And while the department noted the incident ‘did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event’, that’s not stopped people questioning whether the suspect’s intentions were more sinister, particularly with two assassination attempts on Trump’s life already having taken place this year.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told a local news outlet authorities ‘probably stopped another assassination attempt,’ however, both the FBI and Trump’s campaign team said an assassination attempt had not taken place.
And now Miller has spoken out himself.
Vem Miller has denied having any plans to assassinate Donald Trump (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
According to Miller’s LinkedIn, he is ‘an investigative journalist, documentary filmmaker and content producer’ who runs a group called The America Happens Network which rallies against the mainstream media.
Miller told Southern California News Group he actually supports Trump and was ‘shocked’ to find himself accused of trying to hurt the former president.
The 49-year-old claims when he reached the checkpoint – wearing a Trump t-shirt and hat – he told a deputy he was lawfully carrying firearms and says he received a ‘special entry pass’ to the rally from the head of Clark County’s Republican Party.
He resolved: “These accusations are complete bulls**t. I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody.”
Miller was released on $5,000 bail on Saturday. He is set to appear at the Indio Larson Justice Center on January 2, 2025.
Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to call Deputy Coronado at the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station by calling (760) 836–1600.
The suspect of an apparent second assassination attempt on Donald Trump has been named by the FBI and his son has come forward.
Yesterday afternoon (Sunday, September 15), a man was arrested on suspicion of an apparent assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.
The suspect has since been named by multiple outlets and now the FBI as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh.
Now, his son has spoken out.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung revealed there’d been ‘gunshots’ in Trump’s ‘vicinity’ at around 2:00pm while the former US president was playing golf at Trump international Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In a post to Facebook, Martin County Sheriff’s Office revealed it’d shut down a high road and ‘stopped a vehicle and taken a suspect into custody believed to be connected’ to the alleged assassination attempt.
The 45th President of the US said in a fundraising email he was ‘safe and well’ and law enforcement confirmed a person had been detained, officials believing the individual intended to target Trump.
Upon officials searching the area, they discovered ‘an AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks […] and a GoPro’ Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
The suspect has since been named by the FBI as Ryan Wesley Routh and Routh’s son has spoken out in support of his father.
The suspect of the alleged assassination attempt on Trump has been named as Ryan Wesley Routh (AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
Routh’s son, Oran Routh, told CNN his father isn’t known to ‘do anything crazy’ or ‘violent’.
He continued: “Ryan is my father, and I don’t have any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father, and honest, hardworking man.
“I don’t know what’s happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard, it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent.
“He’s a good father, and a great man, and I hope you can portray him in an honest light.”
Social media posts from accounts appearing to belong to the Ryan Routh reveal his support of Ukraine, even traveling to the country to support it following Russia’s invasion.
During a telephone call with The Guardian, the younger Routh added his father went over to the country and ‘saw people f**king fighting and dying’.
“He … tried to make sure s**t was cool, and s**t was not cool. Meanwhile, this guy’s [Trump’s] sitting behind his f*cking desk, not doing a goddamn thing.”
