“I truly do believe we prevented another assassination attempt,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told reporters Sunday, a day after suspect Vem Miller was arrested at a checkpoint outside Trump’s rally in Coachella Valley.
“If you’re asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt.
In July, 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the former president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Crooks was gunned down by Secret Service snipers moments after he fired his weapon.
The suspect, Ryan Routh, was spotted at the last moment when a Secret Service agent patrolling the president’s next hole spotted the barrel of his weapon sticking out of the bushes.
Local law enforcement apprehended an armed man outside a Donald Trump rally in California on Saturday. Despite letting the suspect go after posting a small bail for weapons charges, the local sheriff has reiterated his claims that a third attempt at assassination was foiled.
Day after suspect Vem Miller was apprehended at a checkpoint outside of Trump’s Coachella Valley rally, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told reporters on Sunday, “I genuinely believe we prevented another assassination attempt.”.
A cache of forged passports and driver’s licenses, a loaded handgun, a shotgun, and a high-capacity magazine were found in Miller’s car when police searched it after he was stopped at a checkpoint for allegedly attempting to enter the rally with a fake press pass.
After posting $5,000 bail and being promptly booked on weapons charges, he was freed; however, the sheriff later claimed to have saved Trump’s life, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
On the other hand, it seems that federal agencies are at odds.
According to sources who spoke with The Post, Miller is a member of a far-right anti-government organization and most likely had the weapons for self-defense. The Secret Service believes it unlikely that Miller was trying to kill the president, and the FBI is not looking into it as such.
When the FBI attempted to interview him, he allegedly asked for a lawyer and called the accusations made by reporters that he was an assassin “complete bulls–t.”. “.
However, the sheriff maintained his original judgment when addressing the media on Sunday, labeling Miller a “lunatic” and speculating that the nation might also be for thinking he was “being dramatic.”. “.
“All we can do is speculate as to what his frame of mind was,” Bianco stated. “If you are inquiring now, I most likely had deputies who stopped the third attempt at assassination.
“We have a serious, serious problem in this country if we are so politically lost, if we have lost sight of reality, common sense, and reason that we can’t say, ‘Holy crap, what did he show up with all of that stuff for?’ And I’m going to be accused of being dramatic? This is rationale and common sense. “.
Bianco stated that he was collaborating with the FBI and the Secret Service and that any charges pertaining to an attempted assassination would be handled by federal authorities rather than his office.
According to sources, Miller has a long history of minor run-ins with the law and seems to be a part of the far-right movement known as the sovereign citizens movement, which is based on conspiracy theories holding that people are powerless over their governments.
Although the members of the group “physically reside in this country,” they maintain their “separate or’sovereign’ status from the United States,” and the FBI refers to them as “anti-government extremists.”. “.
One 25-year-old armed member was shot and killed in 2023 after refusing to comply with a traffic stop in Utah. The FBI also observed that sovereign citizens are especially opposed to traffic stops, even to the point where they attempt to evade taxes and the legal system.
According to the Press-Enterprise, Miller, a registered Republican with a master’s degree from UCLA, ran for Nevada State Assembly in 2022.
Along with endorsing conspiracy theories and strongly misogynistic discourse online, he also seems to be the owner of a CBD company located in California.
The reports of assassination attempts come after a tense summer in which two gunmen were apprehended just in time while attempting to murder the former president.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old gunman, shot the former president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
A bullet that nearly killed Trump struck him in the ear, leaving two rallygoers wounded and one bystander dead. Shortly after firing his gun, Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers.
Almost two months later, as the former president was playing the next hole only 300 yards away, an assault rifle-wielding would-be shooter was apprehended by the authorities in the bushes of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club.
When a Secret Service agent observing the president’s next hole noticed Ryan Routh’s weapon barrel protruding from the bushes, they were able to identify him at the last second. The gunman managed to get away when agents opened fire, and Routh was later caught running on the highway.
Federal prosecutors claim that he is thought to have hidden away in the bushes for about twelve hours, waiting for his opportunity to kill Trump.
