At a rally in California this weekend for former President Donald Trump, authorities arrested a 49-year-old man named Vem Miller in what local police called a “third assassination attempt.”
But Miller, after being released, vehemently denied the charge. And given Miller’s associations, which include a man who reportedly maintains a list of 350 people deemed enemies of Trump, it appears police could be mistaken.
Miller was arrested by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office outside the Trump rally in Coachella Valley on Saturday, where deputies found two illegal firearms in his SUV. Sheriff Chad Bianco also said Miller was in possession of a fake VIP pass for the event, fake IDs, as well as fake passports.
“(The VIP pass was) different enough to cause the deputies alarm,” Bianco said. “We probably stopped another assassination attempt.”
Miller vehemently denied the accusations in a video posted to Rumble and described himself as a die-hard Trump fan.
The charge from police is also being called into question given Miller’s connection with far-right figure Ivan Raiklin, who frequently appears alongside him in live streams on Rumble.
In a stream with Miller on March 5, Raiklin said, “America needs a Secretary of Retribution,” calling out corruption in the Biden family.
Miller runs a self-described media operation known as “The America Happens Network,” where he, according to his website, offers content that investigates “scum-baggery” and exposes “global tyrants.”
Raiklin was recently revealed to maintain a “target list” of who he believes are “Deep State” operatives opposed to Trump.
According to Raw Story, the list “includes numerous Democratic and Republican elected officials; FBI and intelligence officials; members of the House Select January 6 Committee; U.S. Capitol Police officers and civilian employees; witnesses in Trump’s two impeachment trials and the Jan. 6 committee hearings; and journalists from publications ranging from CNN and the Washington Post to Reuters and Raw Story—all considered political enemies of Trump.”
Raiklin, a former employee for the Defense Intelligence Agency and retired Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, refers to himself as Trump’s “future secretary of retribution.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md), in comments to Raw Story, even went as far as to describe Raiklin and his hit list as “a clear and present danger to the survival of American democracy and freedom.”
Although Miller hasn’t discussed his ties to Raiklin since making bail, he claims to be anything but savvy with firearms and violence.
“I’ve literally never even shot a gun in my life,” Miller told Fox News. “I don’t know anything about guns. I am beyond a novice.”
Miller also denies being caught with any fake IDs or passports.
“Miller says he’s Armenian and has documents that use his full Armenian name and documents that don’t, because using those documents in some places around the world could get him killed, referring to campaigns over the centuries to murder Armenians,” reported Fox News.
For now, no federal charges have been filed against Miller. In a statement on the matter, the Trump campaign said that it was “aware of news reports about the arrest and are currently monitoring the situation and gathering more information.”
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