A Las Vegas man suing Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco over the lawman’s statements that he believed the GOP activist intended to harm the former president called into the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, saying he hoped the board would not “tie themselves to this corrupt” sheriff.

“I keep releasing evidence to show that this sheriff is a complete liar, and his deputy is a complete liar, and it’s very sad what has happened here,” Vem Miller told the board during the public comment period that precedes consideration of agenda items. “On the surface, we’re both supposed to be constitutional Republicans, but once you dig further, you realize this is not the intention or actions of this sheriff.”

Miller announced that he had begun releasing audio of his personally recorded encounter with deputies providing security during the campaign rally in Coachella for candidate Donald Trump on Oct. 12. The files have been posted on Miller’s Twitter page: @notvemmiller.

Bianco has not released a formal public statement in response to last week’s filing by Miller of a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging defamation of character. However, he did appear to walk back his first observation about Miller’s likely intent to perpetrate a “third assassination attempt,” telling the Los Angeles Times that if “everything Mr. Miller has said is true … then he probably wasn’t there to hurt former President Trump.”

The sheriff’s department last Wednesday stated: “We acknowledge the lawsuit filed against the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and take such matters seriously. We are committed to transparency and will cooperate fully with the legal process. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of the community we serve.”

In Miller’s first audio tape of his interaction with a deputy after entering the VIP parking area for the rally, he can be heard voluntarily declaring that he’s a GOP “caucus captain from Nevada,” that he “wants to be totally transparent,” and “I do have my firearms in the back, in the trunk … a shotgun and a handgun.”

Miller goes on to say he has no intention of taking the guns out of the vehicle. He’s then directed to park and wait.

“I was falsely accused of being at the rally to assassinate former President Trump,” he told the board. “Because of the completely false allegations that I made verbal threats to assassinate the president … including being called by this current sheriff a `lunatic’ and `unhinged’ and all these other things, my life is forever changed.”

Miller said his elderly parents have been impacted by the fallout from his arrest, telling the supervisors his father may be on the verge of “another stroke.”

“This is a direct result of a power-hungry sheriff who thought he could use the opportunity of this very unique situation … to further his political career,” Miller said. “He did this without having a shred of evidence to back up the insane claims he was making. I hope this board does the right thing and doesn’t tie themselves to this corrupt individual and thereby destroy the credibility of this county.”

None of the supervisors responded.

Bianco said in a news briefing a day after Miller’s arrest that a deputy had noticed “the interior of (the suspect’s) vehicle in disarray (and what appeared to be) a fake license plate,” raising suspicions.

“The license plate was homemade and indicative of individuals who claim to be sovereign citizens,” Bianco said, suggesting there were concerns Miller might be some kind of militiaman.

The sheriff also alleged there were “multiple fake passports” in the vehicle.

“As far as I’m concerned, a minimum of 25,000 people passed deputies with legitimate identification and didn’t have guns,” Bianco said. “I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt. I truly do believe that we prevented another assassination attempt.”

The U.S. Secret Service and FBI found no justification for an investigation into a possible attempted assassination.

Miller was booked into the Benoit Detention Center in Indio on suspicion of illegal possession of a loaded firearm and carrying a large capacity magazine in violation of state law. He said that he was released on his own recognizance that night.

He filed his civil action in Nevada, stating in court papers that Bianco “intentionally, maliciously and with a blatant disregard for the truth, wanted to create a narrative so as to be viewed as a ‘heroic’ sheriff who saved presidential candidate Trump from a third assassination attempt.”

Miller’s civil complaint asserts that he was “actually provided expedited special entry passes by the Trump 47 campaign directly.”

“The (deputies’) actions were … diametrically opposed to proper police procedures, out of sync with the rest of the police profession, malicious and plainly unconstitutional,” the plaintiff’s filing states.

The post Earful About ‘Power-Hungry’ Sheriff Bianco During RivCo Supes Meeting appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez said artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose significant risks, but he ruled that the law likely violates the First Amendment.

“Most of AB 2839 acts as a hammer instead of a scalpel, serving as a blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas which is so vital to American democratic debate,” Mendez wrote.

The law took effect immediately after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it last month. The Democrat signed two other bills at the time aimed at cracking down on the use of artificial intelligence to create false images or videos in political ads ahead of the 2024 election. They are among the toughest laws of their kind in the nation.

Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, said the laws protect democracy and preserve free speech.

“We’re confident the courts will uphold the state’s ability to regulate these types of dangerous and misleading deepfakes,” he said in a statement. “Satire remains alive and well in California — even for those who miss the punchline.”

But a lawyer representing YouTuber Christopher Kohls, who sued state officials over the law, called the ruling “straightforward.”

“We are gratified that the district court agreed with our analysis that new technologies do not change the principles behind First Amendment protections,” attorney Theodore Frank said.

The law was also unpopular among First Amendment experts, who urged Newsom last month to veto the measure. They argued that the law is unconstitutional and a government overreach.

“If something is truly defamatory, there’s a whole body of law and established legal standards for how to prove a claim for defamation consistent with the First Amendment,” David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition, said in an interview in September. “The government is not free to create new categories of speech outside the First Amendment.”

The post Judge blocks new California law cracking down on election deepfakes appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.