Authorities: Man with weapons tried to enter Saturday Trump rally

By Dan McCaleb
The Center Square

A Las Vegas man with a shotgun, loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine in his vehicle was arrested by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department as he approached former President Donald Trump's Saturday campaign event in California, authorities said.

Vem Miller was stopped at a checkpoint set up within about a half mile of the Trump rally, authorities said, when he told deputies he had the weapons in his trunk, local media outlet The Press-Enterprise reported.

Sheriff Chad Bianco said Miller was illegally in possession of the weapons and that he believed Miller was attempting to assassinate Trump, but Miller himself told local media that he is a Trump supporter and the guns were for self-protection.

"We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Blanco said, according to The Press Enterprise.

But Miller told the Southern California News Group Sunday that he was “shocked” he was accused of trying to kill Trump, noting that he supports the former president, The Press Enterprise reported.

“These accusations are complete bull,” Miller said, according to The Press Enterprise. “I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody.”