Police acted “hysterically” in arresting a man for allegedly trying to kill Donald Trump, a conservative activist has told Newsweek.
Mindy Robinson, who says she is both a friend and business partner of suspect Vem Miller, said that he is a Trump supporter and posed on threat to anyone. “The fact he’s out on $5,000 bail proves they know he’s not a threat; they’re just mad they’re about to have a lot of egg on their face for running with this as hysterically as they did,” she added. Robinson is an actress and a well-known figure is conservative circles, hosting hosts her Conspiracy Truth show on America Happens, a news site.
Miller, of Las Vegas, was arrested on Saturday after firearms were found in his car outside a Trump rally in California’s Coachella Valley, authorities said. He was taken into custody after deputies found a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine in his car, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department press release.
The arrest occurred at 4:59 p.m. at a checkpoint near Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive, about half-a-mile from the rally entrance. Miller was driving a black SUV when he was stopped. He said after he was arrested that he is a partner in America Happens.
Newsweek contacted the Riverside Sheriff’s Office and Trump’s campaign via email on Monday for comment.
Donald Trump walks onstage for a campaign rally on October 12, 2024 in Coachella, California. A man was arrested outside the event for possession of weapons.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a noted Trump supporter, said, “We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” according to Southern California News Group.
Miller was booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, California, on charges of possessing a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine.
Miller was released Saturday on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear at the Indio Larson Justice Center on January 2, 2025, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department inmate database.
Robinson, known for her anti-government views, told Newsweek that authorities should have done better research on Miller’s background.
“Apparently, authorities spent zero time going through his socials or they’d realize he was both a Trump supporter and an investigator that does a lot of anti-government corruption work,” Robinson said.
“I’m waiting to talk to him personally, hopefully in a few hours,” she added on Sunday evening.
“It sounds like he was targeted for having sovereign plates and I’m not sure where or who this ‘threat against the president’ came from because I don’t see proof of it anywhere.”
Sovereign plates, associated with libertarians and anti-government groups, are license plates that display a personal message rather than a license number.
A September 12 article on the website of KSNT Topeka news channel in Kansas said that sovereign plates “may display words like ‘Private’ or ‘Free Man'” and are not legal.
“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Miller posted a video online after he was released in which he said he was a Trump donor who was invited to the rally by the California Republican Party.
Miller added the police had made defamatory comments about him and that he always carried firearms in the truck of his car. He said the trunk contained a shotgun and a Glock firearm. He described himself as a former Barack Obama supporter who later switched to Trump.
