According to sources, there is no evidence yet of an attack on Trump’s rally

Authorities investigating the gunman who was arrested outside a Trump rally in Coachella on Saturday have so far found no evidence that he was planning an assassination attempt.

Federal officials continue to investigate, but the man remains free on $5,000 bail and the sources say the focus so far is on the gun possession charge that led to his arrest Saturday.

Vem Miller, 49, of Las Vegas, was being held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of possession of loaded firearms, Riverside County sheriff’s officials said. He has since been released on bail pending his court appearance.

Officers found the weapons after searching Miller’s black SUV at a checkpoint at Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella around 5 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

At a news conference Sunday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said his deputies likely thwarted a murder attempt, although he acknowledged that “there is absolutely no way any of us will truly know what’s going on in (the suspect’s) head.” .”

But sources who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly said they found no evidence that Miller intended to harm the former president. They emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and further facts may become known.

Asked whether he was speculating about branding Miller a potential assassin, Bianco said it was “common sense” to suspect that someone who brings weapons and fake IDs to a political rally intends to hurt people. But the sheriff provided no evidence of an assassination attempt.

Miller told Fox News he supports Trump and has no intention of harming him.

“I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck,” Miller told the station. “I have literally never shot a gun in my life.”

He said he was there to cover the rally as a journalist.

The Secret Service released a statement Sunday afternoon saying the former president was not in danger.

“The US Secret Service believes that the incident had no impact on protective measures and that former President Trump was not in danger. Although there have been no federal arrests at this time, the investigation remains ongoing,” the statement said. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI thank the deputies and local partners who helped ensure the safety of last night’s events.”

According to Bianco, Miller drove his SUV through a barrier guarded by sheriff’s deputies before being questioned at a checkpoint closer to the rally entrance. Miller claimed he was authorized to attend the rally as both a journalist and a VIP guest, but was unable to provide any documents.

The deputy who interviewed Miller noticed what Bianco described as “many irregularities” on his SUV: The license plate was fake, the vehicle was unregistered and the interior was “in disarray,” the sheriff said.

A search of the SUV turned up fake passports and driver’s licenses with different names, as well as weapons and ammunition, Bianco said.

Bianco said he identified the suspect as Miller “with an asterisk” because he identified himself by multiple names. According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect stated his name was Vem Miller.

The homemade license plate is “an indication of individuals claiming to be sovereign citizens,” Bianco said, referring to an ideology whose adherents do not believe government authorities are legitimate. Bianco called it irrelevant that most sovereign citizens adhere to right-wing extremist beliefs.

Miller strongly denied intending to assassinate the former president in an interview with Press Enterprise on Sunday. His social media also seemed to show his support for Trump.

“I’m ready to fight non-stop for the next four years with everything I have to help this country and this man,” he wrote on Instagram after the attempted assassination in Pennsylvania at a Trump rally. Along with the comment, he posted a photo of Trump raising his fist with blood on his ear.

Miller also posted photos with various Republican politicians and celebrities, including Donald Trump Jr. and Stephen Miller, a Trump adviser.

Miller said on his website that he went to UCLA, where he studied English and creative writing while also taking film courses.

“I create content for television, film, documentaries, music videos, podcasts and other forms of media production. I am actively involved in politics and work with candidates on all platforms to support those who want to create positive change,” he wrote on his website.

A friend who worked with Miller at her advocacy group America Happens also claimed that Miller had no intention of killing the former president.

“There is no universe in which he had any intention of killing Trump, he worked too hard in this movement to expose the Deep State and all the people who oppose him,” Mindy Robinson wrote in the post on X .

“As a pro-2A advocate, ask me if I represent a good guy with a gun in an unsafe hole like California. It also makes no sense why his passports are fake when we are both normally invited to these things as media.”

In a strange federal court lawsuit against his ex-wife, Miller claimed she kidnapped his children and brought them to the United Kingdom.

Miller, who was working in Canada at the time, claimed that a Canadian judge and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau worked to prevent Miller from getting his children back.

“Prime Minister Trudeau was also involved in my case and helped prevent any form of justice in the Canadian courts,” Miller wrote.

Miller declined to speak to the Times on Monday, saying he had given an exclusive interview to another media outlet. He said he would speak on Tuesday.