Las Vegas man found with guns outside Trump rally: ‘I’m a great admirer’
A Las Vegas man who lost a Nevada Assembly race in 2022 was arrested Saturday outside a California rally for former President Donald Trump, after the local sheriff’s office said he tried to pass a checkpoint with loaded firearms and multiple passports.
“I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said during a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Vem Miller, 49, was booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm — a shotgun and loaded handgun were found in his car, along with boxes of ammunition — and possession of a high-capacity magazine, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Both charges are misdemeanors and Miller was released from custody on $5,000 bail the same day, according to a Riverside inmate search.
Miller told the Review-Journal that the notion he was planning an assassination for Trump — who he said he wanted to see become president — was “ridiculous.”
“Not only am I not somebody that’s capable of such violence and nasty evil things,” Miller said. “On top of that, I’m a great admirer.”
Miller said that he is a Trump caucus captain who received a special invitation to the Coachella Valley rally from the head of Clark County’s Republican Party.
As for the firearms, he said they were in the trunk of his car, as they were at 10 other Trump rallies in New York and Nevada. Miller said he had never used the guns, but had them “just in case” ever since he said he started receiving death threats for an online program.
During his unsuccessful bid for for Assembly District 13 in 2022, Miller said his policies had mirrored those of Trump. Miller lost in the Republican primary to Assemblyman Brian Hibbetts, who currently holds the seat.
In a Las Vegas Review-Journal voter guide, Miller described himself as “a constitutional conservative Republican that is horrified at what is happening to this country.”
At the time, he told the Review-Journal he was running because “this country has been taken over by tyranny.”
Security issue
Deputies on Saturday searched Miller’s car after they noticed it was in “disarray” and that it had a “homemade” license plate — one that Bianco said is representative of a far-right group that calls themselves “sovereign citizens” and do not believe in government. Bianco said the car had been sold to Miller but had never been registered.
The sheriff said Miller was stopped at a checkpoint on the outer perimeter of enforcement around the rally, which Bianco estimated was about a quarter-mile away from the venue, though he said he was not positive.
Miller had presented a VIP pass and press credentials. Bianco said he could not confirm whether those were valid, as those would have been checked at a checkpoint inside the inner perimeter of security for the venue, which Miller never reached.
Miller denied claims that he was anti-government or that there was anything wrong with his car or firearms. He described officers as ransacking his car and appearing as though there was a desperation to find something.
The incident occurred just before 5 p.m., which was before Trump spoke at the Saturday evening rally.
“I am glad that we’re not talking about this after we shot him,” Bianco said, referring to Miller. “We get to talk about it before, and no matter what, it’s all going to be speculation about what his intentions were getting there.”
After the incident, a spokesman for Trump praised actions by sheriff’s deputies on Saturday.
“We thank law enforcement for securing the rally site and helping ensure the safety of President Trump,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said. “We are aware of news reports about the arrest and are currently monitoring the situation and gathering more information.”
Asterisk next to name
Bianco said that although his office has identified the suspect as Vem Miller, the sheriff was putting an “asterisk” next to his name because the man was carrying multiple passports and IDs with different names.
According to court documents filed in May 2024, Miller said he wanted to “correct” his name from being known as Vem Yenovkian, Vem Miller Yenovkian and Vem Steinberg to Vem Miller.
Miller received a bachelor’s degree in English and American literature with a concentration in creative writing from UCLA, and spent his career producing and directing television shows as well as working in investigative journalism, according to his biography on Ballotpedia.
He also hosts the podcast “Blood Money” and has made a documentary about what he said was the mess of voter rolls.
In a video released on Rumble after midnight on Monday morning, Miller said that he could not help but wonder what his mugshot would look like next to that of Trump.
“I’m in great company, you know. Apparently when you try to do the right thing in this country, mugshots are what happens.”
Miller’s social media is coated in pro-Trump and anti-Kamala Harris posts, some of which make vulgar, sexual comments about the vice president. Two weeks ago, he posted photos with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who endorsed Trump after dropping out of the 2024 election as an independent candidate.
Federal investigation ongoing
Bianco said the sheriff’s office’s investigation is largely over. Miller is set to appear Jan. 2 at Indio Larson Justice Center in Riverside, California.
The investigation has now moved to the Secret Service and FBI, though Bianco said his office was “actively engaged” with them.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Secret Service and FBI are aware of the Riverside Sheriff’s County Office’s arrest on Saturday,” the three federal agencies said in a joint statement Sunday. “The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger. While no federal arrest was made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”
In response to questions about whether Bianco was being dramatic for saying that it may have been an assassination attempt, the sheriff said: “If we are that politically lost that we have lost sight of common sense and reality and reason that we can’t say, ‘Holy crap. What did he show up with all of that stuff for?’ (then) we have a serious, serious problem in this country, because this is common sense and reason.”
The event marks the third in a string of dangerous incidents against the former president. In July, Trump was struck by a bullet that grazed his right ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In September, a man was arrested outside his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, for what the FBI said was an apparent assassination attempt.
Multiple lawsuits
Miller said that he plans to sue law enforcement, whom he believes were merely trying to make an example of him.
“They are abusing their positions. They are breaking the law themselves, and they hide under their badge,” Miller said.
This would not be the first time Miller took to the courts. In recent years, Miller has filed a number of lawsuits in state court. Most of the time, he represented himself.
This May, he sued Hibbetts, who was his primary opponent in the 2022 Assembly race. In a complaint that misspelled Hibbetts’ name, he claimed that a political action committee associated with Hibbetts mailed a postcard to Republican households that alleged Miller “was accused of cyberbullying his own family in 2019,” had changed his name and had a “checkered past.”
Hibbetts told the Review-Journal on Sunday that he had never met his opponent personally, but that it seemed obvious that his district had made the right choice.
Miller said in the lawsuit, which appears to be ongoing, that he had no criminal history and did not drink or smoke.
“The history and records of the Plaintiff will reveal that since the age of 25, he has been trusted with budgets ranging from $35,000 to upwards of $7 million for the production of music videos, commercials, television shows, and documentaries,” Miller wrote.
Miller’s other suits include a lawsuit with additional plaintiffs about election observation that ultimately was settled and a lawsuit against someone Miller described as a business partner, alleging that person stole social media account access and threatened to kill him.
The latter lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Miller could refile it. In her March dismissal order, District Judge Jennifer Schwartz included a scathing note directed at Miller: “Court recommends Plaintiff either retain counsel or become familiar with the Nevada Rules of Civil Procedure and the Eighth (District) Court rules prior to refiling any future civil complaints.”
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.
Staff writers Noble Brigham and Jessica Hill contributed to this report.