A GUNMAN arrested over a suspected third assassination plot against Donald Trump had previously cosied up to Nigel Farage and Russell Brand.
Vem Miller, 49, was cuffed just outside a Trump rally in California with a loaded shotgun and handgun on Saturday.
He was caught at a checkpoint only a mile from the crowds in Coachella, after cops spotted an “obviously fake” homemade licence plate on his black SUV.
Both weapons were unregistered and Miller was also carrying drivers’ licenses and passports under different names.
He appears to be part of the right-wing, anti-government “Sovereign Citizens” movement which resists the use of number 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 Kennedy Jr, actor Dennis Quiad and controversial Canadian professor Dr Jordan Peterson.
He has also posed up with far-right conspiracist and infamous Capitol riot frontman, the QAnon shaman.
Miller has vehemently denied the accusations against him and insists he is a fan of the White House nominee.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said he believes Miller intended to kill the Republican presidential candidate in what would mark the third attempt on his life in just four months.
But the FBI and Secret Service are not looking at the case as an attempted assassination, according to reports, and Miller was released on a bail of $5,000 yesterday.
Sources close to the Trump campaign told US media there had been no assassination attempt at the Coachella rally.
Miller told Southern California News Group after his release on Sunday: “These accusations are complete b******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.
Bianco doubled down on Sunday and swore Miller posed a serious threat, describing him as a “lunatic”.
He said the homemade licence plate is “indicative of a group of individuals that claim to be sovereign citizens”.
“I truly do believe we prevented another assassination attempt,” he added.
A criminal judgement on the alleged assassination would come from federal authorities, Bianco said.
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, drivers 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.
Miller’s Instagram account shows him posing for selfies with many famous figures.
In February this year he posted a picture which shows him alongside former UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
The Reform UK MP can be seen giving the thumbs up, with Miller captioning the photo: “Nigel Farage. Today is the thumbs up day.”
Miller posted a selfie with embattled comedian, actor and podcaster Russell Brand in September this year.
He describes himself as an “investigative journalist” and “documentary filmmaker” on politics, according to his LinkedIn.
Miller also has a history of working in right-wing politics, ran for state assembly in Nevada in 2022 and lost.
He also appears to own a California-based CBD company and has espoused conspiracy theories and misogynistic rhetoric online.
Right-wing documentarian and TV personality Mindy Robinson spoke out in defence of her friend Miller on Sunday.
She wrote on X: “The man they just arrested for supposedly “trying to kill” Trump in Coachella….is my good friend and business partner for America Happens, Vem Miller.
“There isn’t a universe his intention was to kill Trump, he’s worked too hard in this movement to expose the Deep State and all the people against him.
“It doesn’t even make sense why his passes would be fake either when we’re both usually invited as media to these things.”
She claimed he was being targeted as a result of an “anti-Deep State documentary” the pair were working on together.
Trump spoke to a crowd of several thousand at the rally which was being held at Calhoun Ranch in Riverside County on Saturday.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco also spoke at the event.
Speakers were forced to stand behind bulletproof glass because of the previous two attempts on Trump’s life earlier this year.
Just over a week ago the former president returned to the scene of the first attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump pledged never to quit, “not even in the face of death itself”.
He joked: “A very big thank you to Pennsylvania.
“We love Pennsylvania, and as I was saying…”
The man who allegedly staked out Trump on his golf course in Florida has been charged with attempting to assassinate him.
Suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was denied bail at a court hearing on Monday – hours after prosecutors cited a letter offering $150,000 to “finish the job” as evidence of why he should be kept locked up pending trial.
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.
October 12 – Riverside County Sheriffs believe Vem Miller tried to enter a Trump rally in Coachella, California, with the intention of killing the President.
They stopped him at the perimeter before Trump had even arrived and booked the 49-year-old on two gun charges.
Sheriff Chad Bianco said it would be up to federal officials to investigate Miller for the alleged assassination, but he believed his deputies had stopped a “third assassination attempt”.
