Man arrested near Trump rally on gun charges ‘deeply admires’ ex-president

A man arrested on gun possession charges near a Donald Trump rally in California on Saturday, spurring significant safety concerns, said that he was a major supporter of the former US president and would never harm him.

"Yes, I'm 100% a Trump supporter," the man, Vem Miller, told Fox News Digital in an interview. Miller, 49, denied the local sheriff's allegation that he was bringing weapons to Trump's event to kill him.

"This is a man that I deeply admire," the Las Vegas resident also said. He claimed to be a registered Republican and "all-in" with the Republican presidential candidate since 2018.

Miller was not able to get anywhere near Trump. Law enforcement agencies -including the Riverside, California, sheriff's office, Secret Service and the Los Angeles US attorney - said that Trump was not in any danger.

While authorities said that Trump had been safe, the incident came in the wake of two assassination attempts, fanning the flames of fear over his safety. During a presser on Sunday, the Riverside county sheriff Chad Bianco claimed: "I truly do believe we prevented another assassination attempt," stoking concerns still more.

Miller was taken into custody at a checkpoint at approximately a half-mile from an entrance to Trump's Coachella Valley campaign stop, shortly before it was scheduled to start. Authorities claimed that Miller was in possession of a loaded shotgun and handgun, as well as a high-capacity magazine.

Miller was arrested before Trump arrived at the site, according to KTLA. He was released from jail on $5,000 bail shortly after his arrest, according to police records.

Bianco said that Miller caught the attention of law enforcement after he managed to access the initial perimeter near Trump's campaign stop. Bianco cited visual "irregularities", noting that Miller's SUV was not registered and had an "obviously" fake license plate.

A sheriff's deputy "eventually found multiple passports with multiple names and multiple driver's licenses with different names", Fox 5 News quoted Bianco as saying.

Bianco claimed that Miller, who two years ago ran for Nevada's state assembly, was a "sovereign citizen". The sovereign citizens do not think they must abide any government laws without consent, and this movement is considered extremist and right wing.

Miller told Fox News Digital that he had firearms due to death threats over his website America Happens Network. "I don't know anything about guns. I am beyond a novice," he said. The website claims it intends to fight censorship and "rage against the mainstream media".

"I always travel around with my firearms in the back of my truck," Miller said, nonetheless insisting: "I've literally never even shot a gun in my life."

Miller also slammed Bianco's claim that he was among the "sovereign citizen" movement, saying: "I don't think there's such a thing."

"Government is an inanimate object, it's the individuals within government that matter, so no, I'm not a part of any of that," he reportedly said.

"These accusations are complete bullshit," Miller told the Press-Enterprise. "I'm an artist, I'm the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody."

Miller also released his own video, "because of the false information that is currently being released by the police department", and said that his website was focused on protecting freedom of press and speech.

"President Donald Trump has been near and dear to our hearts because he's one of the only individuals that I've seen have the courage to actually stand up to the tyranny against we the people," Miller continued, referring to the preamble to the US constitution.