Sheriff Chad Bianco told The Epoch Times that he was given ‘bad info.’
COACHELLA, Calif.—Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told The Epoch Times on Oct. 14 that a previous statement he made—that a suspect arrested on Oct. 12 outside a rally by former President Donald Trump had said that he was “going to kill the president”—was in fact incorrect and based on ”bad info.”
“He never said it. It was bad info … given to me. He never told a deputy that,” he told The Epoch Times in a text message.
On Oct. 13, Bianco told The Epoch Times in a text message, “We arrested a man trying to get in the perimeter with two firearms who ended up saying he was going to kill the president.”
The suspect had been arrested outside the perimeter of a Trump rally in the city of Coachella, California, 130 miles east of Los Angeles, on Oct. 12. The arrest was made before former President Trump arrived on site.
At a press conference, the sheriff said he believed that his deputies most likely helped thwart another assassination attempt.
“From a state law enforcement agency’s perspective, the firearms charges are what we arrested him for and booked him on. … There were two guns and multiple boxes of ammunition for both. There was a handgun and a shotgun,” he said.
“We know that we prevented something bad from happening, and it’s irrelevant what that bad was going to be.”
In a joint statement on Oct. 13, the Department of Justice, Secret Service, and FBI said they are aware of the arrest.
“The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger,” the agencies stated.
“While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”
Suspect Vem Miller, in an interview with Southern California News Group, said he was “shocked” that he was arrested and accused of trying to harm the former president.
“I’m an artist. I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody,” he said.
In a video statement he released on Oct. 14, Miller said he is a supporter of Trump and that he went to the rally at the invitation of the Nevada Republican Party.
The Epoch Times contacted representatives for the Nevada GOP for comment but didn’t receive a reply by publication time.
By Brad Jones
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