(NewsNation) — Vem Miller, the Las Vegas man arrested Saturday for allegedly possessing multiple guns and fake press passes outside of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump, told “Dan Abrams Live” he had no such things on him.
“I didn’t have fake passports. They were valid passports. I didn’t have fake IDs. That’s a false accusation,” Miller said.
Trump rally arrest
Authorities stopped Miller at a checkpoint outside the Coachella, California, rally before it was scheduled to begin Saturday. According to investigators, Miller presented fake VIP and press passes at the sheriff’s office inner checkpoint, leading to a further search of his vehicle.
What we know about arrest outside Trump’s California rally
Inside Miller’s black SUV, deputies reported finding a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine along with his fake entry passes. He had already successfully passed through an outer perimeter.
At the time of Miller’s arrest, Trump was not yet at the rally venue. Federal agencies said the Republican presidential nominee “was not in any danger” at the event.
Vem Miller: Varying gun laws led to Trump rally arrest
A self-proclaimed “kindergarten kid when it comes to guns,” Miller said he was stopped and arrested because gun laws vary from Nevada to California.
“I’ve never owned guns in in California. I’ve owned guns in Nevada. And in Nevada, you’re allowed to have the mag loaded up in the gun. Apparently, in California, they have to be separated,” he said.
While that legal difference is true, NewsNation’s Jesse Weber pointed out that whether the guns were loaded or not, bringing a weapon to a former president’s rally after two previous attempts on his life would be reasonable cause for law enforcement concern.
Who is Vem Miller, man arrested outside Trump rally?
Vem Miller promises lawsuit after arrest outside Trump rally
Miller, a registered Republican, pointed to police misconduct and his own past as the founder of “The America Happens Network,” which he claims has gotten him some death threats for “exposing corruption.”
“Are you saying that you were specifically targeted by the sheriff in law enforcement, or that you were picked up for a reason or being made a scapegoat?” Weber asked.
“I’m being made whatever you call it, a targeted scapegoat. But nothing they did is lawful. I did not do anything that they were claiming I did,” Miller responded.
He reportedly claims to be a sovereign citizen, an anti-government group that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco associated with him during a Sunday news conference.
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Miller also pointed to reports of his release on a $5,000 bond Sunday as false, telling NewsNation “there was never a bail in the situation at all, whatsoever.” Multiple outlets, including USA Today and Fox News, reported his bail release.
Federal agencies said the Republican nominee “was not in any danger” at the event, and have not released any further information about pursuing higher charges against Miller.
Miller, however, has promised a lawsuit against those who arrested him.
“The sheriff is going to be investigated, is going to lose his position,” he said. “The deputy sheriff that was part of this is going to be investigated, is going to lose his position. There’s going to be a massive lawsuit.”
Sheriff: Deputies ‘probably’ prevented third assassination attempt on Trump
Bianco also joined “Dan Abrams Live” on Tuesday, saying his agency did all it needed to do to prevent any violence at the former’s president’s rally.
On Sunday, Bianco told a room full of media: “If you are asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that stopped the third assassination attempt.”
Federal agencies haven’t announced any movements to classify Miller’s arrest as a third assassination attempt, as Trump wasn’t even at the rally when the arrest happened. It’s something Bianco told NewsNation he can “understand … in a factual perspective and context.”
“I believe that they are still going to be looking into Mr. Miller and why he could have been there, or making sure it was legitimate,” Bianco said. “But we are outside of their investigation, and ours was strictly the stop with the guns, and that’s what we arrested him for.”
Vem Miller’s social media
Miller, a noted Trump fan on social media, has posted several pictures of himself with celebrities during the Republican National Convention, including Dennis Quaid, Russell Brand, Newt Gingrich, Steve Bannon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Bianco emphasized that Miller’s GOP affiliation is “irrelevant” to his arrest.
“We know nothing about Mr. Miller. There is absolutely no way for us to know anything about Mr. Miller. All my deputy knows is at the inner perimeter, he has a man showing up with firearms who has multiple IDs, multiple passports with different names and a vehicle that is not registered to anyone, with fake papers,” Bianco explained.
Violence targeting Trump
In July, Trump was grazed on the ear after a gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One rally attendee was killed and two more seriously injured. In September, Secret Service agents fired at a man who was allegedly waiting outside Trump’s golf course with weapons.
Miller is expected to appear in court in January for Saturday’s arrest outside the campaign rally.