An armed man, who was arrested in what officials have suggested may have been a “third assassination attempt” against former president Donald Trump, called the accusations “bullsh*t” and claimed that he is a Trump supporter.
Vem Miller, 49, reportedly claimed he’s a Trump supporter a day after he was cuffed Saturday afternoon near the Coachella Valley rally at a checkpoint — where sheriff deputies found a pair of guns and ammunition in his car.But he was quickly released on $5,000 bail and till now no federal charges have been filed.
In a telephonic interview with the Fox Digital news, Miller explained that he started keeping firearms in his truck after receiving death threats while working on his media venture, America Happens Network, which aims to combat “censorship” in the media. Despite owning firearms, Miller admitted to being a novice with guns and never having fired one in his life.
Miller said he was a Democrat growing up, and thought Barack Obama was going to “save us from needless wars and censorship.”
“I’m certainly more Republican now,” he said, and described himself and his business partner as more libertarian.
“Yes, I’m 100% a Trump supporter,” Miller said, adding that he was “all-in” with Trump by 2018.
“This is a man that I deeply admire, because I was a closet individual in terms of my beliefs, because I worked in Hollywood. As my politics started to change, I realized that Hollywood is a homogenous community,” Miller told Fox Digital News.
“These accusations are complete bullsh*t … I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody,” Miller told the Southern California News Group.
When questioned about the alleged fake IDs and passports found in his possession, Miller insisted that none of them were counterfeit. He told Fox Digital News that he carries documents with both his full Armenian name and abbreviated versions, as using certain documents in some parts of the world could put his life at risk due to historical campaigns targeting Armenians.
Miller also addressed Sheriff Bianco’s suggestion that he was part of the “sovereign citizens” movement, dismissing it as a “nonsensical statement.” He denied any involvement in right-wing anti-government groups, challenging the sheriff to name specific groups and asserting that such accusations are baseless.
Sources close to the Trump campaign have expressed doubts about the incident being an assassination attempt on the former president. The campaign released a statement thanking law enforcement for securing the rally site and ensuring Trump’s safety, while monitoring the situation and gathering more information. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has also stated that the incident did not impact the safety of Trump or the event attendees.