Man charged with carrying guns to Coachella Valley Trump rally rails against Sheriff, DA

A 49-year-old Nevada man charged with possessing a loaded firearm when he arrived at a campaign rally for President-elect Donald Trump in the Coachella Valley called into the Riverside County Board of Supervisors' meeting today, saying the accusations against him were spurious and that Sheriff Chad Bianco was unfit for office.   

"I was falsely accused of being the third Trump assassin,'' Vem Miller of Las Vegas told the board during its open public comments segment of the meeting. "The FBI cleared me. Nevertheless, Chad Bianco can go on a media tour and accuse me (because he wants) to be the next corrupt governor of California."  

Miller previously spoke telephonically to the board in October, generally touching on the same points. Last month, the District Attorney's Office filed a criminal complaint against him, charging a misdemeanor count of possession of a loaded firearm without a permit and failure to show proof of
current vehicle registration, an infraction.

Miller pleaded not guilty to the allegations during an arraignment last week. He's free on his own recognizance and is next scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on March 11.   

"This has had an adverse effect on my life and my family's,'' he told the board, adding that his ``work of 30 years'' had been undone and his reputation permanently damaged as a result of his arrest, followed by the complaint against him.

The simplest endeavors, such as obtaining credit, have been stymied.   

"What Chad Bianco did was criminal,'' the Republican activist said.   

Miller intimated that he had been in contact with individuals and conducted his own research pointing to "bribery, pay scandals'' and other acts that cast the sheriff's department in a negative light.

"It's one of the most embarrassing (law enforcement) departments in the country,'' Miller said.

He expressed disbelief that the District Attorney's Office filed a complaint against him, "instead of going after Bianco.'' Miller alleged D.A. Mike Hestrin was directly involved in the charges against him to cover for the sheriff.  

Hestrin told City News Service he had no comment. The D.A.'s office generally resorts to "staffing'' complaint requests submitted by law enforcement agencies, relying on senior prosecutors and their supervisors to make decisions on whether charges should be filed in a case. The district attorney himself is seldom involved.   

"Exposing these corrupt officials has had the desired effect,'' Miller said. "Chad Bianco will never be governor and will never hold public office again.''  

The sheriff's department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In October, Miller announced during the board's public comments period that he had begun releasing audio of his personally recorded encounter with deputies providing security during the campaign rally in Coachella for Trump on Oct. 12. The files had been posted on Miller's Twitter page: @notvemmiller.

Within a week of his arrest, Miller filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging defamation of character in connection with Bianco's comments regarding his possession of guns in his vehicle.

Bianco, who attended the Trump rally as a supporter, said in a news briefing a day after Miller's arrest that a deputy had noticed "the interior of (the suspect's) vehicle in disarray (and what appeared to be) a fake license plate,'' raising suspicions.

"The license plate was homemade and indicative of individuals who claim to be sovereign citizens,'' Bianco said, suggesting there were concerns Miller might be some kind of militiaman. The sheriff also alleged there were "multiple fake passports'' in the vehicle.

"As far as I'm concerned, a minimum of 25,000 people passed deputies with legitimate identification and didn't have guns,'' Bianco said. "I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt. I truly do believe that we prevented another assassination attempt.''

The sheriff later appeared to walk back that statement, acknowledging in a Los Angeles Times interview that Miller "probably wasn't there to hurt former President Trump.''

Miller filed his civil action in Nevada, stating in court papers that Bianco "intentionally, maliciously and with a blatant disregard for the truth, wanted to create a narrative so as to be viewed as a `heroic' sheriff who saved presidential candidate Trump from a third assassination attempt.''

Miller's civil complaint asserts that he was "actually provided expedited special entry passes by the Trump 47 campaign directly."

In the first audio tape of his interaction with a deputy after entering the VIP parking area for the rally, he can be heard voluntarily declaring that he's a GOP "caucus captain from Nevada," that he "wants to be totally transparent,'' and "I do have my firearms in the back, in the trunk... a shotgun and a handgun."  

Miller goes on to say he has no intention of taking the guns out of the vehicle. He's then directed to park and wait, culminating in his arrest.