The Man from Nevada, who was arrested with a gun at a checkpoint before a Donald Trump rally in southern California, has filed a lawsuit accusing the sheriff of falsely characterizing his arrest as a botched assassination attempt for personal gain. reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
The man, identified as 49-year-old Wem Miller of Las Vegas, was driving an unregistered black SUV with a "self-propelled" license plate when he was pulled over by sheriffs serving the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference Sunday.
In Miller's vehicle was a rifle, a loaded handgun, ammunition and several fake passports, Bianco said. Miller was released the same day on $5,000 bail.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada, says Bianco lied about the fake passports and that he "created a narrative so that he would be seen as "heroic" sheriff who saved candidate Trump". It names as defendants the sheriff, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and a sheriff's deputy.
A call for comment to the sheriff's office was referred to the department's communications office, which did not respond to an email. The Associated Press also emailed Miller's attorney, Sigal Chatah, for comment.
Security at Trump rallies has been tight after two recent assassination attempts, the AP says.
Meanwhile, after dodging the issue for weeks, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance said yesterday in no uncertain terms that he believes false claims that Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election, Reuters reported, citing BTA.
Taking questions from reporters at a campaign event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Vance was again asked if Trump lost to President Joe Biden four years ago.
"Regarding the 2020 election, I have answered this question directly a million times. No! "I think there were serious problems in 2020," Vance said. "So, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election? No.“
Trump, the Republican nominee for president in 2024, continues to falsely claim that he lost the 2020 election because of massive election fraud, a view shared by millions of his supporters. However, numerous investigations have not found any evidence of fraud, according to Reuters.
During his current run for president, Trump has indicated that he will contest the results if he does not win the Nov. 5 race against Democrat Kamala Harris, the vice president of the United States.
His efforts to overturn the 2020 election have led to federal and state officials indicting him. He is still awaiting trial in those cases. His refusal to accept the result also sparked the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by thousands of his supporters.
In Williamsport, Vance said he wasn't espousing "some crazy conspiracy theory" that Trump had won. Instead, he blamed the election result on online censorship by big tech companies.
/PJ/
Source: www.bta.bg