The man arrested on gun charges near Donald Trump's Coachella rally on Saturday denied he was trying to assassinate the Republican presidential nominee.
Vem Miller, 49, was stopped half a mile from the Indio, California, rally entrance and "was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine," as well as fake press and VIP passes, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.
"I truly do believe we prevented another assassination attempt," Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told reporters Sunday, the New York Post reported.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts in recent months.
Miller, though, told Fox News Digital he's "100% a Trump supporter" and had no plans to harm the former president. He also said he reported the guns to authorities at the checkpoint and insisted the documents Riverside Bianco said were fake are legit.
Miller quickly released on $5,000 bail and no federal charges have been filed.
"I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck," Miller told the outlet in a phone interview.
"I've literally never even shot a gun in my life. … I don't know anything about guns. I am beyond a novice."
Miller said he bought the guns after receiving threats due to launching the America Happens Network to combat "censorship" in the media.
A one-time Democrat and Barack Obama supporter, Miller said, "I'm certainly more Republican now," and fully backs Trump.
"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 News Digital.
He also discussed Bianco's statement that Miller's license plate is "one that is homemade and indicative of a group of individuals that claim to be sovereign citizens."
"That's a nonsensical statement," said Miller, who added he doesn't support the sovereign citizen movement and is not a part of it or any other anti-government groups.
"I don't think there's such a thing," he says, adding that the two terms don't make any sense together.
Mindy Robinson, a conservative activist and friend of Miller, said police acted "hysterically" in arresting the Las Vegas, Nevada, man.
"The fact he's out on $5,000 bail proves they know he's not a threat; they're just mad they're about to have a lot of egg on their face for running with this as hysterically as they did," Robinson told Newsweek.
Miller said he's considering suing over defamatory statements and alleged police infringement of his rights, journalist Kyle Becker posted on X.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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