Las Vegas man sues California sheriff’s office after arrest near Trump rally

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Las Vegas man arrested outside of former President Donald Trump’s rally in California over the weekend is now suing the sheriff and the sheriff’s office for defamation.

Vem Miller, a registered Republican who served as a caucus captain for the former president’s 2024 campaign, filed the federal lawsuit on Tuesday — just days after his arrest.

Deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office arrested Miller at a checkpoint outside of the Coachella rally last Saturday. Miller was arrested with a handgun, a shotgun and a high-capacity magazine, deputies said.

The 49-year-old was booked on suspicion of possessing the firearms and the magazine before being released on $5,000 bail on Sunday.

During a press conference Sunday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said deputies became suspicious of Miller after noting fake license plates on the vehicle and multiple passports with different names inside his car, documents said.

Bianco said Miller “had multiple fake passports and fake driver licenses with different names” and was part of a “sovereign citizens group,” documents said. Bianco also said, according to that lawsuit, that Miller carried fake VIP press passes, but Miller said the entry passes were from the campaign.

The lawsuit alleges the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office violated “various rights under the United States Constitution and state law in connection with the unlawful seizure and distribution of private information obtained in violation of plaintiff’s constitution rights,” documents said.

In his lawsuit, Miller claims Sheriff Bianco “knew that Miller was not charged with any wrongdoing concerning assassination attempts,” adding the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI never interviewed him. Miller also cited the charges he faces, which do not include anything related to a potential assassination.

Miller’s attorney, Sigal Chattah, defended one of six so-called Republican “fake electors.” A Las Vegas judge dismissed the case citing a lack of jurisdiction. Chattah ran unsuccessfully for Nevada Attorney General in 2022.

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