Who is Vem Miller? Man arrested at Trump rally vowed to protect former president ‘with everything I have’

Man accused by sheriff of plotting attempt on former president’s life said to have possessed false passports and unlicensed guns

The man arrested with guns at a Donald Trump rally once vowed to “do everything I can” to protect the former president. 
Vem Miller, a self-styled journalist and filmmaker, shared a picture on social media of a blood-smeared Trump raising his fist in defiance after a failed assassination attempt in July. 
“I am willing to fight non stop with everything I have for the next four years to help this country and this man. We need to break the DS [deep state],” the caption read. 
Mr Miller, 49, of Las Vegas, was named by local sheriffs as the man detained outside a Trump rally in Riverside County on Saturday on suspicion of illegal possession of a shotgun, handgun and high-capacity magazine. 
Deputies found the loaded firearms while searching Miller’s black SUV at a checkpoint close to the venue of the Republican candidate’s latest campaign appearance. Fake VIP passes and press credentials were also found in the suspect’s vehicle. 
Mr Miller was later described as someone typical of being a member of the “sovereign citizen movement”, a group of anti-government and anti-tax protesters who believe they are separate from the United States by the sheriff of Riverside County.
Police discovered his vehicle to be unregistered, and there were also multiple counterfeit passports and identity documents. 
Mr Miller is a registered Republican and his social media accounts are littered with alt-right conspiracy theories. 
Selfies with Right-wing and anti-woke figures like Robert F Kennedy Jr, Nigel Farage, the British politician, Russell Brand and Jordan B Peterson are mixed with unfounded claims about Covid-19 and the dollar. 
He came within touching distance of Donald Trump Jr, the former president’s son, at the Republican National Convention, filming him as he passed through the venue holding the event. 
A number of his posts on Instagram have been censured because they were found to contain “false information” by third-party fact-checkers. 
In one post, Mr Miller said: “Every assassination is an inside job,” alongside a picture of secret service snipers watching over Trump’s Pennsylvania rally when the former president was shot through the ear by Thomas Matthew Crooks on July 13.
The 49-year-old claimed the head of the secret service had prevented the snipers from taking out the would-be assassin because the law enforcement agency’s chief wanted Trump dead. 
Mr Miller holds a masters degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and in 2022 ran for the Nevada state assembly.
His political goals – which he has continued to pursue as a “journalist” – promise to “restore our constitutional rights”, including references to the Second Amendment on the right to bear arms. 
Mr Miller also pledges to “revitalise small business, which was so grossly harmed by the covid mandates” and “give power back to parents, who have had their voices ignored by authoritarian school boards”.
Chad Bianco, the Riverside County Sheriff, said the finds were typical of a “sovereign citizen” — someone who does not believe in government control.
“They are certainly considered a far-Right group,” Mr Bianco added.
Mr Bianco initially said that his local law enforcers had “probably stopped another assassination attempt”. The Trump campaign and FBI said there was no evidence this was an assassination attempt.
According to the Press Enterprise, Miller denied that he was part of the Sovereign Citizen group.
In an interview with a local journalist following his release on bail, Mr Miller said he would never harm Trump, whom he supports in the upcoming presidential election.
“These accusations are complete bull—t,” Mr Miller told Southern California News Group on Sunday.
“I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody.”
Mr Miller said he had a “special entry pass” to the Trump rally, in contradiction to police claims.
The pass, the 49-year-old said, was handed to him by an associate in the Republicans, while he claimed he attended another campaign event in Nevada with firearms in his vehicle without any trouble.
In a video statement released on Monday, Mr Miller claimed to have met the “very cool” former president several times, including at the premiere of one of the Blade superhero films in the early 2000s.
He has apparently been to “a countless number of Trump rallies and Trump events” and is “very close” with members of Trump’s extended family.
“I’ve talked to Don Jr. I’ve talked to Eric Trump. I know a lot of people within the Trump family, extended family,” he said.
Mr Miller added that Trump had “inspired” him to run for office in Nevada and that he had been a caucus captain to turn out the vote for the Republican in previous elections.
Mr Miller claims to have been a director and producer who worked in Hollywood on a “six-figure salary”, but left to set up the America Happens, a news outlet that claims to “rage against the mainstream media”.
The “uncensored” network pushes a series of conspiracy theories on the assassination of John F Kennedy, the Covid-19 vaccine, 9/11 and the “deep state”, amongst other topics.
Mr Miller is a registered Republican and ran for Nevada state assembly in 2022, local media outlets reported.
Campaign material issued by a man with the same name promised to “restore our constitutional rights”, including references to the Second Amendment on the right to bear arms.
There were also pledges to “revitalise small business, which was so grossly harmed by the Covid mandates” and “give power back to parents, who have had their voices ignored by authoritarian school boards”.
The FBI describes the sovereign citizens movement as a domestic terror threat, similar to eco-terrorists and animal rights extremists.
The agency says the movement’s participants likely believe that even though they reside in the United States, they are separate or “sovereign” from the government.
According to the Press Enterprise, Mr Miller denied that he was part of the sovereign citizen group.
Mr Miller said on Monday that he was hiding at a “cheap motel” because he does not feel safe after being accused of trying to assassinate Trump.
He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, but claims to be stuck in California because the police have seized his truck and he will not be able to get it back until Tuesday.
“I’m seriously considering grabbing an Uber and getting the hell out of here, because I don’t feel safe with the kind of things that these guys [the police] have said,” he said.
Mr Miller said he planned to launch a “major lawsuit” against the authorities for “hundreds of millions of dollars”. “I see the work of Christ in this moment,” he added.