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A Las Vegas man who was arrested with two firearms outside a Trump rally in California last weekend insists he was wrongly portrayed as a would-be assassin by the county sheriff, accusing the lawman of cobbling together an entirely phony narrative in a misplaced bid for glory.
Vem Miller says Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — a dedicated Trumper who is himself under investigation by California Attorney General Rob Bonta over allegations of widespread civil rights violations — “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,” according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The suit was filed on Miller’s behalf in Nevada federal court by attorney Sigal Chattah, who serves as the chairwoman of the Nevada Republican National Committee and describes herself on social media as, variously, an “Israeli Born Republican Culture warrior,” and a “Proud American Nationalist.”
Reached by phone on Wednesday morning, Miller told The Independent that he is currently in hiding, worried that Bianco’s contention that he was gunning for the former president could get him “offed” by “crazy guys trying to protect Trump.”
“I canceled a bunch of events,” Miller said. “It’s craziness right now, dude.”
Miller said he was approached “by a bunch of lawyers” about suing Bianco, but that he knows Chattah personally and complimented her as being “a savage.”
“He messed with the wrong crew, because I come with people,” Miller said. “When the bodycams come out, forget about it.”
Bianco did not respond to a request for comment.
In his complaint, Miller says Bianco continued to float bogus claims of his potentially homicidal intentions to the global media even after the Secret Service and FBI said that they did not believe Miller was a threat and declined to interview him, the complaint states. Miller was a “lunatic” with “fringe” views, Bianco told reporters, and claimed his deputies had possibly prevented Trump from being killed.
Later, the Secret Service, FBI, and US Attorney’s office issued a public statement emphasizing that Trump was never in any danger at the event. But by then, Bianco’s depiction of Miller had gone global, picked up by news outlets around the world.
Miller, the complaint underscores, is a registered Republican, a member of the Clark County Republican Party’s Central Committee, and served as a Trump caucus captain during the 2024 presidential primaries.
“Instead of apologizing to Miller for the false accusations made against him,” the complaint goes on, “Bianco compounded [his own] misconduct, perpetuated [sic] a boisterous and delusional narrative that has caused irreparable harm to Miller’s character and reputation.”
Miller was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center in Indio on two misdemeanor weapons charges following his October 12 arrest and released in the early hours of Sunday morning on $5,000 bond.
Miller’s complaint takes aim not only at Bianco, but nearly a dozen deputies who were involved in his arrest, as well. It claims the officers violated Miller’s First and Fourth Amendment rights to privacy and against unlawful search and seizure, and accuses Bianco of intentionally training his cops “to do precisely the wrong thing.”
“In short, the officers’ actions were contrary to proper police practices,” the complaint states. “Riverside police practices were diametrically opposed to proper police procedures, out of synch [sic] with the rest of the police profession, malicious, and plainly unconstitutional. Riverside police engaged in deliberate and wrongful conduct and compromised police protocol violating Miller’s constitutional rights for the purpose of promoting and engaging in a meritless and gratuitous sensational story.”
Miller also takes issue with Bianco’s claims that he had “multiple fake passports and fake driver licenses with different names,” that he was a member of a sovereign citizens’ group, that he was driving an unregistered vehicle with fake plates, that the interior of his truck was “in disarray,” and that Miller presented a fake VIP pass to get into the rally. This, according to Miller’s complaint, “is perhaps the most egregious allegation, since Miller was actually provided expedited special entry passes by the Trump 47 campaign directly.”
A onetime journalist, Miller now runs a right-wing website pushing fantastical conspiracy theories about 9/11 being “an inside job” and the “so-called” Covid-19 pandemic. Miller previously told The Independent that he is a die-hard Trump supporter and claimed the Glock semi-automatic handgun, shotgun, and high-capacity magazine cops found in the trunk of his car were strictly for his personal protection, which he started carrying in 2022 after supposedly receiving death threats connected to his work.
In a text message on Tuesday to the Los Angeles Times, Bianco appeared to walk back some of his Sunday remarks about Miller.
“Three days later, IF everything Mr. Miller has said is true, and I really hope it is, then he probably wasn’t there to hurt former President Trump,” Bianco’s message read. “I definitely said it and can’t change that.”
Miller is asking for compensatory, general, and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. He is suing on several claims, including failure to train, deprivation of rights, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation.
