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Arrest of false-alarm Trump assassin shows intense pressure on authorities after TWO near-deadly blunders, expert says
Watch our interview with security pro Will Geddes above
THE US Secret Service is under immense pressure to protect Donald Trump after a man with guns and ammo in his car was arrested outside the former president's rally on Saturday, an expert told The Sun.
Security specialist Will Geddes said that although the FBI and Secret Service have said reports that he was an attempted assassin were a false alarm, protection in the run-up to the November election is vital.
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Will explained: "The greatest level of pressure right now is on the head of the Secret Service.
"It is essential that they are absolutely on their game, and they are fully aware of what is going on, and that they are applying their best practices to the protection of Donald Trump.
"All of us within the security sector, I believe, were not naive enough to believe that the very first assassination attempt on Donald Trump was going to be the very last.
"It was inevitable that we were going to see future or further attacks, and whether this particular instance falls into that category again that has yet to be decided."
READ MORE ON DONALD TRUMP
Neither the FBI nor the Secret Service is looking at the case as an attempted assassination, and Miller was released on a bail of $5,000 the same day as his arrest, reported.
And sources close to the Trump campaign said there had been no assassination attempt at the Coachella rally.
Still, Will warned: "The closer we get to those elections in November, the greater the chances are that there will be subsequent attempts on Donald Trump's life."
Las Vegas resident Vem Miller, 49, was arrested in California on Saturday at a security checkpoint about a mile outside one of Donald Trump's campaign rallies.
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Police said Miller was driving an unregistered SUV with fake license plates and carrying false identification, VIP and press passes, and two unregistered firearms.
In a press conference on Sunday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said he believed Miller intended to kill the Republican presidential candidate and that local police prevented an attack.
The closer we get to those elections in November, the greater the chances are that there will be subsequent attempts on Donald Trump's life
Will Geddes
Miller has vehemently denied the charges after being released on bail on Saturday, insisting he is an avid Trump supporter.
"Yes, I'm 100% a Trump supporter," he told on Sunday, describing himself as a former Democrat who thought Barack Obama was going to "save us from needless wars and censorship" but was "all-in" on Trump by the middle of his presidency.
He also defended his possession of the guns and ammo found in the car, saying he carries them for protection after he began getting death threats when he founded the alternative media company America Happens Network in 2022.
SECRET SERVICE 'MAY NEED OVERHAUL'
Just weeks ago another man was charged with attempting to kill the White House nominee after staking him out on a golf course in Florida.
And in July Trump took a bullet to the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania when he was shot at mid-speech.
The Secret Service came under intense scrutiny for failing to spot and prevent shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks from unleashing bullets into the crowd.
Trump's speech on Saturday at Calhoun Ranch, Riverside County, was delivered from behind a bulletproof glass screen in light of the attempts on his life.
Will said of the Secret Service: "They have already lost face, and they will continue to lose face, should they fail again.
"The Secret Service will have been entirely discredited worldwide, and may even have to be entirely overhauled."
He explained how this weekend's incident came down to local police, in this case the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, to intercept Miller - a "suspicious individual".
"It was the Riverside County Sheriff... inevitably it will be a local police department whenever Donald Trump has one of these rallies, who will be providing that outer cordon of security," Will said.
Miller was arrested about a mile outside of the central rally when police spotted his fake license plates.
Will said: "So how much credit can be given to the Secret Service?
"The Riverside County Sheriff's Department were very much on their game.
"Two deputies that identified this vehicle, namely, by a fake registration plate... they then subjected him to a closer scrutiny."
The security pro added that after looking at Miller's "social media and his interactions with the Republican party" it could be unlikely that he was planning an attempt on Trump's life.
Will said: "[Trump] is seen as the most potentially viable target by any opposing element in removing or eliminating him.
"Inevitably he has to make himself more visible, more public, more in touch and in reach with his electorate, to be able to stand a good opportunity of potentially winning the elections.
"It is important to see that security, whether that be delivered by the Secret Services, or whether it be by the county sheriffs, in whichever country he is holding a rally, are very much on their game, and they are in attendance.
"The Secret Service have not been proven yet to really be, as I would hope to be, fully on their game other than the last recent alleged attempt on the golf course."
WHO IS VEM MILLER?
Miller was caught at a checkpoint only a mile from the crowds in Coachella on Saturday when cops spotted an "obviously fake" homemade license plate on his black SUV.
Both weapons were unregistered, and Miller was also carrying driver’s licenses and passports under different names.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said they believed he was part of the right-wing, anti-government “sovereign citizens” movement which resists the use of license plates and official ID.
The Las Vegas resident has previously shared pictures online with plenty of high-profile figures, including former US presidential candidate and Trump supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr., actor Dennis Quiad, and controversial Canadian professor Jordan Peterson.
He has also posed up with far-right conspiracist and infamous Capitol riot frontman, the QAnon shaman, former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, and disgraced comedian Russel Brand.
Miller told Southern California News Group after his release on Sunday: "These accusations are complete bulls**t.
"I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody.
"I've literally never even shot a gun in my life.
"I don't know anything about guns," he added.
The sovereign citizen movement is an anti-government group widely considered to be based on conspiracy theories about US law.
Members claim they are not subject to any kind of legislation unless they consent, marking themselves as separate or "sovereign" from the government and wider society.
They view most forms of tax as illegitimate and don't subscribe to Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, or vehicle registration.
The FBI has described the group as a domestic terror threat - placing it in the same category as eco-terrorists and animal rights extremists.
In the interview with Fox News Digital, Miller also denied involvement with the sovereign citizens movement, calling the accusation "a nonsensical statement."
"Government is an inanimate object, it's the individuals within government that matter, so no, I'm not a part of any of that," he said.
"They're saying that I'm part of these right-wing anti-government groups? Why aren't they naming these groups? Because it doesn't exist."
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He also pushed back on the sheriff's claims that his identification was fake, telling the outlet that he is Armenian and has multiple legitimate forms of ID that show his full Armenian name and others that don't.
"None of those are fake," he said.
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Timeline of assassination attempts on Donald Trump's life
July 13 - Thomas Crooks shot Donald Trump in the ear after hiding on a roof overlooking the former President's outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Crooks was killed by Secret Service snipers after he fired eight shots at Trump and killed one rallygoer and injured two others.
The bullet came less than a quarter of an inch from striking Trump's head, Ronny Jackson, the former president's physician, said.
September 15 - Ryan Routh was seen by a Secret Service agent hiding in the bushes with a rifle at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
Trump was playing a round of golf when the alleged would-be assassin managed to get within 400 yard of Trump.
Routh fled the scene in an SUV but was caught by cops and arrested.
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