MAGA Republicans have begun touting the arrest of an armed man outside Donald Trump’s rally Saturday as a “thwarted” third assassination attempt, but federal investigators said that there was no indication that the man was there to hurt the Republican presidential nominee. In fact, the man said he was a Trump fan.
Vem Miller, a 49-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada, resident, was arrested outside Trump’s disastrous rally in Coachella, California, after he was found to be carrying two unregistered firearms, ammunition, and several fake passports, according to the Associated Press. He was also driving an unregistered black SUV with a fake license plate, and carried fake press credentials.
CBS’s Scott McFarlane reported Monday that authorities don’t believe Trump was in any danger from Miller. “A federal law enforcement source tells CBS News there is no indication that this was an assassination attempt,” McFarlane said.
“In a statement to CBS News, Miller calls the allegations ‘a bunch of lies’ and said police made a mistake,” McFarlane said. “In a video he posted overnight, Miller says he’s a staunch support of the former president, has been active in helping him get reelected, and was invited to the rally.”
In a 75-minute video statement, Miller said he had received a special invitation from the Republican Party of Nevada to attend the event, and said he had been to “countless” Trump events before that. Miller claimed that he’d spoken to Don Jr. and Eric Trump, knew many people within the Trump family, and had even met Trump multiple times, according to Newsweek.
The validity of Miller’s statements is not yet determined, but his remarks did not seem to betray any intent to harm the Republican presidential nominee.
It seems that MAGA acolytes are running with their own story.
“A third would-be assassin was caught yesterday with a fake VIP/press pass and loaded weapons trying to get into President Trump’s Coachella rally,” wrote Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna in a post on X Sunday. “This needs to stop. Please join me in praying for President Trump.”
She added a screenshot of a New York Post headline that described a “Third Trump assassination thwarted.”
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also got in on the thoughts and prayers. “Yesterday a man in possession of multiple firearms was arrested outside the Coachella rally. Pray for President Trump, his family, and the entire Trump Team. This appears to be a thwarted third assassination attempt,” Greene wrote in a post on X Sunday.
