(NewsNation) — The Las Vegas man arrested Saturday for possessing multiple guns and fake press passes outside of a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump never made it inside while Trump was there, an official said Sunday.
The man was released on a $5,000 bail on Sunday, less than a day after his arrest. Federal agencies said the Republican nominee “was not in any danger” at the event and the incident is under investigation.
In a Sunday press conference, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a noted supporter of Trump, addressed the media and discussed safety measures taken at the event in Coachella, California.
Man arrested outside of Trump’s SoCal rally on gun charges
Man arrested outside Trump rally
Authorities stopped 49-year Vem Miller at a checkpoint outside the Coachella, California, rally just one minute before it was scheduled to start on Saturday. Trump was not yet at the venue.
Bianco said Miller presented fake VIP and press presses at the sheriff’s office’s inner checkpoint, leading to a further search of his vehicle. That vehicle was unregistered and had a homemade license plate that Bianco said could connect him to the anti-government “Sovereign Citizen” extremist movement.
Inside Miller’s black SUV was a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine along with his fake entry passes.
Miller had already successfully passed through an outer checkpoint and gave officials “all indications that he belonged there,” Bianco clarified. The outer perimeter was not manned by Riverside deputies.
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Riverside County Sheriff’s Office personnel took Miller into custody and transferred him to the John J. Benoit Detention Center, where he was released on Sunday on $5,000 bail.
Miller is a registered Republican in Nevada, a fact which Bianco said he “couldn’t care less” about.
“It’s fringe one way or the other, I couldn’t care less,” Bianco said. “It’s people trying to do harm, and thank God we prevented it.”
Sheriff: Deputies ‘probably’ prevented assassination attempt
Previous reporting cited Bianco as saying the incident was “probably” a third assassination attempt on the former president, a statement he echoed after some back-and-forth during Sunday’s press conference.
“I will be honest with you, I don’t remember saying that, but it certainly would be something that I did say,” he told a reporter, instead focusing on the prevention of any potential bloodshed.
“I certainly wouldn’t want to be saying, after the fact, that I wish we would have done something to prevent that shooting. And there is absolutely no way that any of us are going to truly know what was in [Miller’s] head,” Bianco said, adding that “it’s all going to be speculation.”
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Minutes later, Bianco changed his tune again, saying: “If you are asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that stopped the third assassination attempt.”
He clarified that the FBI and United States Secret Service would have to lead the investigation classifying Saturday’s arrest as an assassination attempt. Neither organization has done so.
“From my perspective … the firearms charges is what we arrested him for and booked him on. Anything further will come from the federal government and, quite frankly, I don’t know if we will be a part of that,” Bianco said.
‘Trump was not in any danger’: Federal officials
The U.S. Attorney’s Office released the following statement just minutes after the press conference concluded:
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Secret Service, and FBI are aware of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest on Saturday. 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 has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Secret Service, and FBI extend their gratitude to the deputies and local partners who helped ensure the safety of last night’s events.”
Attempts on Trump’s life
The arrest comes as multiple high-profile attempts of violence against the former president have taken place during the heated election cycle.
On July 13, Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet coming from the gun of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks was shot and killed by a member of the Secret Service.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is currently being prosecuted on gun charges after he hid out near a Florida golf course in an alleged attempt to have a clean shot at the former president and current Republican presidential nominee on Sept. 15.
Nexstar’s Austin Turner and Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
