Thomas Eugene Streavel, 73, was arrested on Monday and pleaded not guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Riverside. Streavel was released from custody after posting a $10,000 bond. Streavel faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for a conviction on any of the counts.

The name of an attorney who could speak on his behalf was not immediately known. Streavel could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Streavel does not have a documented criminal record in San Bernardino County.

Among the threats he is accused of making is one allegedly posted on Nov. 6, 2024, the day after Trump defeated then-Vice President Kamala Harris: “Trump is a dead man walking for the time being until a patriot like myself blows his (expletive) brains out in the very near future,” Streavel is accusing of writing.

Strevel’s brother, Yucca Valley resident James Streavel, repeated “Oh, my God” in a phone interview when a reporter informed him of the charges, noted they are felony accusations and advised him that the DOJ had announced the allegations to news media nationwide.

“All I want to say is, I know he wouldn’t kill him,” James Streavel said.

Thomas Streavel is also alleged to have posted these threats:

• Nov. 12: That he was “willing to make America great again and blow his (expletive) brains out.”

• Nov. 19: “Let me put a bullet right between the ears of your president-elect…That’s my purpose for living.”

• Nov. 28: “I’m praying for a successful assassination of your president-elect” and “My life’s mission is killing the worthless LOSER (expletive) and my mission starts tonight so watch yourself trump (sic) you are a dead (expletive) and I am your assassin.”

Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, declined to comment beyond the indictment that was unsealed Tuesday, including whether officials believe Streavel planned to act on the alleged threats, whether authorities had searched Streavel’s home, and what evidence, if any, they discovered.

“The type of rhetoric and threats made by this defendant are similar to those that led to an attempt on the President’s life last year,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in a Justice Department news release. “There is no place for political violence or threats of violence in the United States. We will not hesitate to arrest and charge others who engage in similar criminal conduct.”

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department had not had any contact with Streavel before assisting with the arrest, spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said Tuesday.

“In December 2024, personnel from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Morongo Basin Station responded swiftly to assist the United States Secret Service in investigating a series of violent online threats made against President-elect Donald Trump. Working closely with our federal partners, we helped identify the suspect, gather evidence, and support his indictment,” Rodriguez wrote in an email.

By the end of Round 10, the nationwide field had been ground down to nine, and among them was Oliver Halkett, 13, of the Mirman School in Bel-Air, who correctly spelled “gobbe” to stay in the competition.

The Bee continues with the final rounds on Thursday in National Harbor, Maryland.

To get to the 10th round, Oliver had to also:

• Spell “aeolight”
• Answer the question “What is a juggernaut?” (A massive, crushing force)
• Spell “mashlum”
• Spell “opihi”
• Answer the question “If something is done gingerly, it is done:” (with extreme care)
• Spell “polymorphism”
• Pass a written spelling test
• Answer the question: “Something described as toilsome is:” (characterized by tiring work)
• Spell “becquerel

Also in the 10th round, Hannah Kuo, 12, of Granite Mountain Charter School in Lucerne Valley, ended her Spelling Bee journey when she failed to correctly spell “bromyrite.” In the 9th round, she correctly spelled “ophion.”

In the 6th round, Victoria Li, 11, of Philistine Rondo School of Discovery in Eastvale incorrectly spelled “ablegate,” and dropped out of the competition. To get there, she correctly answered the 5th round vocabulary question, “What does it mean to gesticulate?” (to move the body or limbs when talking).

Local students who began the competition included Sydney Tran, 13, of El Rancho Charter School in Anaheim; Kamya Balaji of Notre Dame Academy in the Rancho Park area of Los Angeles; and Angeline Wang, 11, of Caryn Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga.

Spellers who made it to the quarterfinals — including Oliver, Hannah and Victoria — receive a $100 gift card and a commemorative pin from the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

All the spellers receive a prize package, including bee souvenirs and an official certificate of participation from the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster; a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online; a 2025 U.S. Mint proof set; and a one-year subscription to Britannica Online Premium News-O-Matic.

On Tuesday, 99 spellers from the original field of 243 advanced to the quarterfinals after scoring high enough on the third-round written test administered to contestants who had correctly spelled their first-round word correctly and provided the correct answer to the second-round vocabulary question.

The scores of the written test were not released. Those who scored at least 13 on the test advanced to the quarterfinals, bee organizers said. The maximum score was 35.

Under bee rules, spellers were grouped by their number of correct answers. The number of spellers of advancing was determined by identifying the group whose minimum score resulted in as close to 100 quarterfinalists as possible.

The field was 165 entering the written test.

The bee began with spellers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Department of Defense schools and five nations outside the United States — the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria.

There were 42 spellers eliminated in the first round and 18 in the second.

The bee is limited to students who have not have passed beyond the eighth grade or an international equivalent on or before Aug. 31, 2024 and who were born on Sept. 1, 2009 or later.

The bee will conclude Thursday. The winner will receive $50,000 from the Scripps National Spelling Bee, $2,500 and a reference library from Merriam-Webster, $400 in reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica including a 1768 Encyclopedia Britannica replica set and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium.

This is the 100th anniversary of the first national spelling bee, which was held on June 17, 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers around the country to hold spelling bees and send their champions to Washington, D.C.

This is the 97th edition of the bee. There were no bees in 1943, 1944 and 1945 because of World War II and in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Six Californians have won the national bee but none was from Riverside County.

With so many options, a trip to the fairgrounds at Fairplex in Pomona can be overwhelming.

• ALSO SEE: 7 outrageous, creative or flat-out delicious foods to try at the LA County Fair

If your group needs help deciding what to visit first at the Los Angeles County Fair, check out this curated guide that offers a little something for everyone.

For the adventurer

Are you a fan of the great outdoors? Then head over to The Hill, where the U.S. Forestry Service presents demonstrations, shows and workshops. Guests can meet wild burros or come face to face with a few scaly residents and learn how to spot the differences in reptiles.

RELATED: LA County Fair: A quick tour offers glimpse of what to expect this year

For the wine enthusiast

Did you know the fair has wine and spirit tastings? Now you do! Celebrating their 90th and 123rd years, respectively, the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition and the Los Angeles International Wine Competition put the spotlight on award-winning spirits, wines and olive oils, all available for guests to sample. Choose to sample by the glass or a tasting flight if you’re looking for variety. Classes and pairing workshops are also available. New this year, the fair is offering a paint-and-sip class. Spirit and wine tastings are located in The Marketplace in The Hill district for guests 21 and over.

RELATED: Your guide to the LA County Fair 2025

For the crafty

If you’re interested in all things DIY and craft-related, check out Expo Hall Five located in the Downtown District. The entries were formerly located in the Grandstand Hall but have been moved due to renovations. Here, get in touch with your inner Martha Stewart and find inspiration for your home with tablescape competitions and award-winning culinary masterpieces such as cakes and pies. Guests can also participate in live cooking demonstrations in the Kitchen with Chef Leslie Sassaman and others.

For the artist

This year’s fair theme is “Art Unleashed,” highlighting all things artistic in different mediums. Don’t miss exhibits and art on display at the Millard Sheets Art Center, located in the Downtown District. This year, you can also try your hand at pottery throwing for an additional fee and check out the community art project — a crocheted awning to shade fairgoers.

For the animal lover

They’re cute, cuddly, and you can pet most of them! The farm animals found at the Big Red Barn are always a delightful main attraction every fair season. Get hands-on with baby barnyard residents and learn about the types of care-taking required to produce an award-winning animal.

For the foodie

Who can resist fair food? This year some of the new items include jerk lobster mac & cheese, Dubai chocolate covered strawberries, fruity pebble Korean corn dogs and pickle lemonade.

About the LA County Fair

Where: Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona

When: Friday, May 2, through Monday, May 26

Hours: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on opening day. After that, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, plus Memorial Day, May 26.

Cost: $18.50 to $27.50 for adults; $15.50 for children ages 6 to 12 and seniors 60 and older. Parking starts at $22.50. Parking, admission, and concert box office payments are cashless. Advance online purchases cost less than gate prices.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the location of the DIY and craft events.

Claudia Bautista, the executive director with the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center, said the organization was notified at around 9:30 a.m. that immigration agents were at the Home Depot on Towne Avenue.

“When we got there, we realized it was not ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) but Border Patrol,” she said. “They took 15, 20 day laborers who were only looking for work.”

“It is not a crime to look for work,” Jessica Bansal, an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said on KTLA. “It is not a crime to be a day laborer.”

Videos shared with the broadcast station show several unmarked cars and vehicles appearing to belong to Border Patrol entering the parking lot.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement she asked a county agency to ensure those affected would receive the support and resources needed. She confirmed 15 to 20 day laborers were detained.

“I want to reaffirm my unwavering commitment to ensuring that all residents, regardless of their immigration status, are aware of and can exercise their constitutional rights,” Solis said.

A Home Depot representative said to reach out to law enforcement with any questions.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement representative said that agency was not involved in the operation. The U.S. Border Patrol did not respond to a request for comment.

A senior official with the Department of Homeland Security would not say how many people were detained, and what agency performed the operation, but he did say that two people were targeted, “one with an active arrest warrant and another with a felony immigration charge.”

During that Pomona operation, he said, agents detained other people as well, suspected of being in the country illegally. Among those taken into custody were those who had prior charges for such crimes as child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, DUI, forgery and drug possession, he said; it is unclear if some of these charges were for the same person.

He would not provide a list of names of those detained, so the Southern California News Group could not verify the prior charges.

The Pomona Police Department, in a Facebook post, said it does not conduct immigration enforcement and was not involved in Tuesday’s operation.

Donald Trump, who stepped back into the Oval Office in January, has said he intends to “carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the date of when the action took place.

On that question, legal experts on opposite sides of the political spectrum differ, laying the groundwork for a potential court battle with an outcome affecting protections for roughly 740,000 acres of desert land in eastern Riverside County.

As his term wound down in January, President Joe Biden established Chuckwalla and the Sáttítla National Monument in Northern California to shore up his environmental legacy, which includes protecting more public land acreage in a single White House term than anyone besides Jimmy Carter.

Named for the lizard found in the Sonoran and Mojave Desert and northwestern Mexico, Chuckwalla, which is south of Joshua Tree National Park, includes land sacred to Native American tribes, a trade route used by 19th Century gold prospectors and an area used by Gen. George Patton to train U.S. troops for desert combat in World War II.

Trump supports opening up federal lands for mining and oil and gas drilling. His administration, eager to undo Biden-era environmental rules, confirmed plans to dissolve the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla in mid-March, according to The Washington Post and New York Times.

A White House fact sheet posted online late Friday, March 14, indicated Trump signed an executive order “terminating proclamations declaring nearly a million acres constitute new national monuments that lock up vast amounts of land from economic development and energy production,” the Post and Times reported.

But that line disappeared from the fact sheet the following afternoon, leaving Chuckwalla’s supporters confused about what will happen, the newspapers added.

Biden established Chuckwalla using his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows presidents to create monuments through executive decree, according to the National Constitution Center.

Debates over whether presidents can rescind monuments without Congress’ approval date back to the 1930s, the center reported. In 2017, conservative lawyers John Yoo and Todd Gaziano made the case for Trump having independent authority to abolish monuments.

“Under traditional principles of constitutional, legislative and administrative law, the authority to execute a discretionary power includes the authority to reverse it,” Yoo and Gaziano wrote in an article published in the Yale Journal of Regulation.

A 1938 U.S. attorney general’s opinion, arguing that presidents can’t unilaterally dissolve monuments, “is poorly reasoned” and “misconstrued a prior opinion, which came to the opposite result,” Yoo and Graziano added.

Mark Squillace, a University of Colorado Boulder law school professor who worked as an interior department lawyer during the Clinton administration, maintains that presidents can’t undo monuments on their own.

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 “removes any doubt as to whether Congress intended to reserve for itself the power to revoke or modify national monument proclamations, because Congress stated so explicitly,” Squillace and others argued in a 2017 paper published by the Virginia Law Review.

News that Trump wanted to undo the monuments angered Chuckwalla supporters, who lobbied Biden for years to preserve the land.

“Trump’s gutting of the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla national monuments is a gruesome attack on our system of public lands,” Ileene Anderson, California desert director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said via email.

Joan Taylor, chair of the Sierra Club’s California/Nevada Desert Committee, said via email that for decades “presidents from both parties have used national monuments to preserve cultural and historic lands, important wildlife habitat, and access to nature for people across the country.”

“National monuments like Chuckwalla enjoy overwhelming public support. Unilaterally revoking national moment protections would be both unpopular and illegal,” Taylor said.

Jack Guerrero, a Riverside County GOP central committee member who serves as the state party’s treasurer, said via email that the Trump administration “is merely reviewing, and if appropriate, revising the status of the public lands that President Biden hastily designated as monuments at the very end of his term.”

He added: “The key to any change in status for Chuckwalla and other recently designated monuments, is to evaluate land-use options, weigh their long-term costs and benefits, and consult with various stakeholders throughout the region including our local tribes. I believe this comprehensive evaluation by the Trump Administration is reasonable.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the location of Chuckwalla National Monument. It is south of Joshua Tree National Park.

The story also included a reference to an incident committed in the Harvard-Westlake locker room against Player Z. The specific incident was not committed by van der Woude.

In declining to comment about the juvenile case, van der Woude’s attorney cited confidentiality concerns.

The mother was identified as Saritha Ramaraju, 48. She was released from a hospital on Thursday, March 20 and arrested on suspicion of murder, torture, child endangerment, and aggravated mayhem.

On Wednesday morning, Ramaraju called 911 and confessed to killing her son, identified by authorities Thursday as Yatin Ramaraju, Santa Ana Police Officer Natalie Garcia said.

Yatin was found on a bed with multiple stab wounds in a room at La Quinta Inn, at 2721 Hotel Terrace. He was pronounced dead at the scene. KCAL TV reported there was a large kitchen knife in the hotel room, and that, according to police, the mother showed little emotion when she emerged from the room.

His father, who had full custody of the boy, had allowed Ramaraju to see him during visitation hours while the child was on spring break, Garcia said.

He was supposed to be returned to his father Wednesday around 6 p.m., she said.

Ramaraju was detained in the hotel hallway and hospitalized after telling authorities during the 911 call she had also ingested an unknown substance. It was later determined that she took upwards of 20 pills worth of Advil or Tylenol, police said.

Police said the woman’s last known residence was in Irvine and that she had been staying at the hotel for the past couple of weeks. Yatin was most recently a student in the Tustin Unified School District, though he had previously attended a school in the Irvine Unified School District, according to court records and school officials.

Ramaraju had been in a custody battle with the boy’s father, Prakash Raju, since last year, when she accused him of making medical and school decisions without her input and alleged he had substance abuse issues, court records show.

Raju pleaded guilty June 21, 2023, to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08% or more, both misdemeanors, and was placed on three years of informal probation.

His blood-alcohol level when he was arrested Sept. 4, 2022, was .25, more than three times the legal limit, according to the criminal complaint.

Raju had filed a motion requesting early release from the terms of probation as well as dismissal of his conviction, which was denied Feb. 7.

Raju said in court papers he was born and raised in Bengaluru, India, and works as a senior data architect at Irvine-based Panasonic Avionics Corp., a supplier of in-flight entertainment and communications.

He said he had “taken significant steps” to ensure he would never drive drunk again, including completing the court-mandated programs as part of his probation and personal counseling as well as abstaining from drinking alcohol. Raju asked for early release from probation to “advance professionally and contribute more effectively to society,” and that his criminal record was blocking a promotion in his field.

The couple divorced in January 2018 and the father was granted custody, with the mother receiving visitation, according to court records. After Ramaraju filed a motion seeking custody of their son late last year, they were ordered to go to mediation.

The mother was living in Fairfax, Virginia, and wanted her son to live with her, according to court papers filed in November. She wanted their son to stay with her for Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation, but Raju, after agreeing to it, changed his mind and wanted Yatin to stay in California.

She also accused him of refusing to provide any details of a recent hospital visit and that he changed schools for the boy without telling her. She said she found out when the boy’s previous school called her to inquire why he wasn’t going to class.

Ramaraju accused her ex-husband of a “history of substance abuse issues” and added he “gets very aggressive under the influence of alcohol, drugs and smoke.” She accused him of having “severe control issues” and that their son “is very scared to talk to mother as he’ll get into trouble with dad.”

She said Yatin “is very scared to behave normally” and … always feels like he is “walking on egg shells.”

Ramaraju also accused the father of leaving their son unattended for hours at a time.

Raju responded in court papers that they share joint legal custody and can obtain medical or school records “directly from the provider.”

He accused his ex-wife of “citing completely false and untrue abuse and substance abuse issues.”

After mediation the two agreed to let Ramaraju have their son for winter break with the father retaining primary physical custody.

Raju criticized his ex-wife’s parenting, saying she “has demonstrated a lack of commitment in parenting, as evidenced by her absence from her daughter Veda’s life for over 23 years — effectively abandoning her from a previous marriage. This concerning history leads me to fear that similar actions may adversely affect our son, Yatin, in the future.”

Raju said their son “thrives in a supportive community” in Orange County, “excels academically and actively participates in enriching extracurricular activities.”

He said during a summer break when the two went to Virginia, Ramaraju “suddenly refused to return him to California as we had agreed. She kept him for over a week after our agreed-upon return date and even attempted to unilaterally register him for school in Virginia without any type of notice, agreement or court order.”

Yatin missed the first week of school in Orange County because of it, he claimed.

“It was only after I was forced to involve law enforcement that she finally returned Yatin to California,” he said.

He also accused her of signing an application for a renewed passport for Yatin to visit family in India.

Raju said his ex-wife’s claims of neglect and substance abuse are “completely false and baseless. … I do not have a history of abusing alcohol or drugs as alleged by mother.”

He also said he has never been found guilty of “any criminal activity as alleged by mother.”

He denied their son was “scared” of his father.

“I did not fail to notify mother of Yatin’s new school,” he said in the court records. “I had moved into a new home, still in Orange County, and his school district changed. All of this occurred while mother was living in Virginia. I fully notified mother of Yatin’s new school and she was fully aware well before Yatin was enrolled.”

Yatin “has thrived — he is a healthy, happy and academically successful student who excels in extracurricular activities, including swimming, gymnastics and math,” Raju said.

Ramaraju was granted visitation with their son during spring break from Friday through Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Raju and other relatives could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

Editor’s note: Yatin’s attendance in the Tustin Unified School District was left out of a previous version of this story.

Staff writer Michael Slaten contributed to this report.

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies arrested Vem Miller, 49, outside an Oct. 12 rally at Calhoun Ranch mere weeks before the Nov. 5 election. The day after Miller’s arrest, Sheriff Chad Bianco said his deputies had “probably stopped another assassination attempt” when they prevented Miller from entering a parking lot outside the rally venue.

If true, it would have been the third apparent attempt on Trump in four months, following an assassination attempt in July in Pennsylvania and an apparent thwarted assassination attempt in Florida in September.

“He was trying to get his claim to fame and didn’t care that he was destroying somebody’s life, my parents’ life,” Miller said of Bianco on Thursday, Jan. 9, at a Barstow coffee shop. “I walk into my parents’ house after all this time and I see my mom crying, she’s so traumatized.”

From the beginning, Miller — who had a shotgun and pistol in his vehicle at the time of his arrest — said he was no assassin, but a Trump loyalist unfairly maligned by Bianco.

“Everything was a lie, everything was a lie,” Miller said. “My name was correct, my birthdate was correct. Everything else was a lie.”

Miller sued Bianco and Riverside County three days after his arrest.

“Riverside police engaged in deliberate and wrongful conduct and compromised police protocol violating Miller’s constitutional rights for the purpose of promoting and engaging in a meritless and gratuitous sensational story,” the 23-page suit filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada reads in part. He’s represented by Las Vegas attorney Sigal Chattah, Nevada’s representative on the Republican National Committee.

The criminal charges against the man Bianco characterized as a would-be assassin have been minor.

Miller was released on Oct. 12 without needing to post bail. He currently faces no federal charges connected with the campaign rally. On Jan. 2, Miller pleaded not guilty at Larson Justice Center in Indio to one misdemeanor count of carrying a loaded firearm into a public place and one count of failing to have a current vehicle registration.

According to a joint statement released by the Secret Service, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, as well as a statement issued later by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Trump had not been in danger at the Coachella Valley rally.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment for this story, saying the department does not comment on pending litigation.

According to Miller, the damaging misinformation from Bianco started almost immediately.

At the time of Miller’s arrest, Bianco said Miller had been found with fake passports and driver’s licenses, had a fake license plate on his unregistered car and belonged to a right-wing anti-government group.

“If you are asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt,” Bianco said at an Oct. 13 news conference. “If we are that politically lost that we have lost sight of common sense and reality and reason that we can’t say ‘holy crap, why’d he show up with all that stuff for and loaded guns?’ and I am going to be accused of being dramatic? We have a serious, serious problem in this country. Because this is common sense and reason.”

Bianco referred to Miller as a “lunatic” during the conference.

The passports, driver’s licenses, license plate and guns all had good explanations, Miller said, arguing that deputies did not do their due diligence and examine the allegedly fraudulent documents.

“The back page of my passport says ‘the bearer of this passport is also known as’ and it says my birthname,” Miller said.

An Armenian American, Miller said he dropped his last name, Yenovkian, when he ran for office and because he’s gone to areas of the world for work where Armenians are targeted by authorities. The passports and drivers licenses he had with him at the time of his arrest, Miller said, had a mix of his current and past legal names.

Miller had been involved in a dispute with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. He was told by friends that he could just have a “private license plate” on his car in the meantime. He now says he was possibly given bad advice and was in the process of getting a state-issued license plate for his truck by the time of his arrest.

“One hundred percent of the people that I know in Nevada have guns in their trunk,” Miller said of the pistol and shotgun found in his car. “In Nevada, on a dozen occasions, I’ve told cops about this. They don’t care.”

A Southern California resident who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, Miller worked in film and video.

A self-described “JFK Democrat,” Miller contributed to Bernie Sanders’ political campaign in 2016. But by the 2020 presidential election campaign, he was supporting Republicans, including various Trump and GOP candidate campaign committees, having been turned against Democrats by what he said was broadcast news selectively editing footage of Trump.

Now a registered Republican, Miller has served as a caucus captain for Trump. He previously ran for Nevada State Assembly in 2022, losing in the primary. According to Miller, he’s attended about two dozen Trump events.

He now describes himself as a journalist and his website, the America Happens Network, which he started after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, bears the slogan “rage against the mainstream media.” At the time of his arrest, Miller’s business partner, Mindy Robinson, posted on X that she believed his arrest in October was in retaliation for a report on their website alleging a government cover-up involving the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff in Nevada.

“There isn’t a universe (where) his intention was to kill Trump,” Robinson wrote. “He’s worked too hard in this movement to expose the Deep State and all the people against him.”

At the Oct. 13 news conference, Bianco said Miller is affiliated with the sovereign citizen movement, an anti-government movement that believes that most government statutes do not apply to citizens who do not consent to be governed by them. Miller denies any involvement with the movement.

“On my podcast for the last three years, I’ve been mocking sovereign citizens,” Miller said. “I’ve actually been critical of anti-government behavior. That’s why I’ve been involved in trying to better government.”

Miller said his arrest and the subsequent headlines have hurt his career. His IMDB page listing his show-business credits now includes a news article about his arrest.

“You Google your name, and your 30 years of work, imagine that’s buried for 30 pages” behind stories about his arrest, Miller said. “It’s been a complete character assassination.”

A security officer attempted to throw him out of Turning Point’s AmericaFest in December, based on a cursory search of Miller’s name online, he said.

“I have to explain to people constantly that I’m not this person,” Miller said.

After the arrest, which made international headlines, he said he’s received death threats and harassment on social media.

“It’s always based upon what Bianco said, how he lied,” Miller said.

He shared screenshots of Instagram private messages accusing him of being part of a conspiracy to kill Trump, calling him “lying vermin” and a coward.

He’s also received threatening emails with language that includes “iwillkillyou” in the email address, he said.

According to Miller, his elderly parents, who still live in Las Vegas, have been traumatized. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department showed up at his parents’ home on Oct. 14, he said, for a “wellness check.” Without a warrant, according to Miller, officers attempted to force their way into his parents’ home, only leaving after a friend of Miller’s called the governor and chief of police.

“Imagine you’re a little old lady,” Miller said. “She’s 77, my dad’s 80. You have 12 anti-terrorism police officers trying to barge into your home.”

On his website, Miller now has a section called “The 3rd Assassin Hoax.” The page collects videos and blog posts decrying his arrest by Bianco, whom he says tried to use Miller’s arrest to raise his profile ahead of a possible run for governor of California.

“Bianco was an Oath Keeper. Next thing you know, he’s kneeling for BLM. Next thing you know, you’re saying you’ve got to put a felon in the White House, blah blah blah,” Miller said. “Bianco’s like a chameleon; whatever will get him votes.”

Miller is due back in court on his criminal charges on March 11.

Staff writer Brian Rokos contributed to this story.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

More about Vem Miller and Chad Bianco

• Riverside County sheriff acknowledges he was dues-paying member of Oath Keepers
• Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco could run for governor in 2026
• ‘It’s time we put a felon in the White House;’ Riverside County sheriff endorses Trump in snarky video
• Can Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco become California’s governor in 2026?
• Thousands flock to see Donald Trump rally near Coachella
• Man with guns arrested near Trump rally in Coachella; Riverside sheriff says they stopped assassination attempt
• Man arrested with weapons near Trump rally in Coachella doubles down on support for ex-president
• Who is Vem Miller, the man arrested outside California Trump rally with weapons?
• Man arrested with weapons outside Trump’s Riverside County rally sues sheriff over ‘assassination attempt’ comments

Many homes go back generations and have been passed down for decades from parents to their children. Some say the areas were rare places where Black residents could afford homes, especially in the decades after the end of segregation.

Now, the blaze has brought a new reality to these neighborhoods for Black residents like Sheila Foster.

Her Altadena home of more than two decades was destroyed this week, dashing her plans of leaving it to her three children.

“It hurts to wake up and not even have a toothbrush, something you take for granted,” Foster, 55, said. “This house was going to go to my kids. I don’t have $500,000 sitting in the bank.”

Altadena, an unincorporated community in the San Gabriel Valley, is just north of Pasadena and largely surrounded by natural sites such as the Arroyo Seco, Eaton Canyon and the San Gabriel Mountains.

Foster’s house cost about $250,000 when she bought it in 2001, she said.

The median cost of buying a home in Los Angeles County was $900,000 in December 2024, according to Realtor.com.

Foster, who grew up in Altadena and Pasadena and has lived there all her life, actually lost two homes to the fire — both on the same block.

One was rented to a tenant; the other was her own home, where her mother and family members often stayed and visited. The tenant, Foster and her family are all safe after evacuating early Wednesday, Jan. 8.

About 18% of Altadena’s residents and approximately 7% of Pasadena’s residents are Black, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.

More than 4,000 structures were lost in the Eaton fire and more than 200 GoFundMe pages as of Saturday, Jan. 11, have shown the impact of the fire on the Black community in Altadena and Pasadena. Nearly 14,000 acres have been burned in the fire.

“This will (displace) a lot of Black people,” Foster said. “Some of them are elderly, some were barely holding on before the fire, trying to keep their property because it was going down from generation to generation up here.”

Many of Altadena and Pasadena’s Black residents came after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, journalist and historian Michele Zack wrote in a piece for Altadena Heritage, a group that records historical buildings and events in the community. Zack also wrote a 2004 book, “Altadena: Between Wilderness and City.”

Schools forced to integrate, freeway construction and redevelopment conflicts caused “white flight” from Altadena during this time, which resulted in people of color taking the place of about half of Altadena’s former White population, Zack wrote for Altadena Heritage.

In 1960, Black residents comprised under 4% of Altadena’s population. By 1980, they made up 43% of Altadena’s population, the Altadena Heritage website states.

See more: Altadena’s historic Black community pulls together after destructive Eaton fire

Homeownership is a major way to accrue generational wealth, of which Black people have historically been at a disadvantage because of the effects of slavery. Because they were historically considered three-fifths of a person, they often couldn’t own or afford land or property. By the time they were free and could begin to earn money and buy property, many White settlers were decades ahead in homeownership.

Black homeownership in California has been lower for many racial groups and Black people have faced disproportionate barriers to homeownership such as redlining, Jim Crow-era segregation and gentrification.

“Decades of intentional, government-sponsored zoning, redlining, and predatory lending schemes have kept many Black people from buying and sustaining a home,” the Urban Institute website states.

Despite seeing a boost after the Fair Housing Act of 1968, Black homeownership suffered after the 2008 mortgage crisis, something the Urban Institute said “reversed gains and worsened homeownership disparities.”

In California, Black homeownership is at 36.6%, nearly 28 points below rates for White homeownership, CalMatters reported.

“I don’t know what my next steps are other than prayer,” Foster said. “I do want to rebuild and come back because I’ve been in Pasadena and Altadena all my life.”

Elic Mahone, an Altadena resident since the 1980s, also lost his house in the fire Wednesday morning, Jan. 8.

He evacuated his Lewis Avenue home about 6 a.m. and within 30 minutes started getting calls that it had burned down.

Mahone’s family moved from South Central Los Angeles when he was in middle school and has been in the Altadena area ever since.

“Altadena was one of the first communities where a Black family could get through the red tape and buy properties,” Mahone, 53, said. “That’s why it’s one of the most diverse communities in California, for that to change is concerning. In the mid 70s, Black people often weren’t allowed to go and buy property west of Crenshaw or east of the 110 Freeway.”

Mahone bought his house in 1998 for $340,000 and had renovated it about a year ago. His worries include being taxed based on 2025 rates and not the late 1990s rates to which he’s accustomed and whether he will be able to afford demolition and rebuilding. He’s also concerned about insurance policies covering fire damage and how high policies may get.

Mahone and his sister have been caring for their parents’ house, also in Altadena, to protect against looters and flyaway embers. Despite being without electricity, water or gas, they feel fortunate that their parents’ house is still standing and suffered only smoke damage.

“There isn’t even a semblance of the frame of my house,” he said. “Yesterday, we were able to sift through what is left and found nothing but molten metal and ash. So protecting their house has given me purpose after losing my own. I need something to fight for.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the mountains near Altadena. They are the San Gabriel Mountains.