Law Enforcement Foils Third Attempt to Assassinate Trump
A man was taken into custody after being found with a shotgun, a handgun, and counterfeit press passes outside a rally for the former president in California on Saturday. Read Full Article at RT.com
Law enforcement officers thwarted a potential attempt on Donald Trump's life on Saturday when they apprehended an armed individual with counterfeit press credentials outside the former president’s rally in Coachella, California, according to a local sheriff.
Vem Miller, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was taken into custody at a checkpoint near the rally venue on Saturday. He was found to possess an illegally owned shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine, as reported by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office in a statement issued on Sunday.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco informed local media that Miller had presented fake VIP and press passes at the checkpoint.
“They were different enough to cause the deputies alarm,” Bianco told the Press-Enterprise. “We probably stopped another assassination attempt.”
Bianco characterized Miller as a “sovereign citizen,” a term used to describe a loose collective of extreme libertarians who assert that the government lacks legal authority over them. He noted that Miller is a registered Republican with a master's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and he ran for the Nevada state assembly in 2022.
Miller has not confirmed or denied that he intended to assassinate Trump, as stated by Bianco.
The 49-year-old suspect has been released on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court in January to face charges related to illegal firearms possession.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts in the past three months. The first occurred during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July, where a bullet fired from approximately 150 meters away grazed his ear. The gunman, who shot from an unprotected rooftop, ended up killing one attendee and injuring two others before being neutralized by a sniper.
The second attempt was made at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September. A gunman who aimed at Trump from behind bushes was startled by Secret Service agents and was arrested after fleeing the scene. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, had previously attempted to join the Ukrainian military in 2022 and afterward tried to recruit former Afghan commandos to aid in the fight for Ukraine.
American intelligence officials have suggested that Iran may be involved in plans to assassinate Trump, prompting President Joe Biden to warn Tehran that an attack on his former political rival would be treated as an act of war.
Republican Representative Matt Gaetz claimed last month that five “assassination teams” are currently operating in the U.S. with the intent to kill Trump, three of which are said to have connections to Iran, Pakistan, and Ukraine. Some Republicans have speculated that “a mole inside the Secret Service” may be leaking information to these hitmen, according to Gaetz's remarks to Breitbart News.
Biden announced on Friday that he has instructed the Secret Service to protect Trump “as if he were a sitting president,” and to provide him with any security assistance requested by his campaign.
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News