A Las Vegas man was arrested with a loaded weapon Saturday at a checkpoint near former President Trump’s California rally.
Trump was not in danger, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release on Sunday.
Deputies assigned to Trump’s Coachella rally stopped the driver of a black SUV, identified as Vem Miller, 49. He was found “to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine,” according to the release. He was arrested without incident and charged with possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine, the sheriff’s department said.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco on Sunday told the Southern California News Group that another assassination attempt may have been stopped with the arrest.
The Justice Department said Sunday that its agencies were “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 statement reads. It notes an investigation is ongoing and no federal charges are yet involved.
Miller is a member of a right-leaning antigovernment group, Bianco told the news group, according to a report in The Press Enterprise.
Miller, however, told the news group that he is a Trump supporter and had been invited to the event. He also said he told deputies that he was carrying firearms in his vehicle, though they then “ransacked” his SUV. He added that the weapons were bought legally.
Media members, as well as VIP ticket holders, were routed through a number of intersections manned by state and local law enforcement officers before arriving at a large, grassy area where drivers were asked to open hoods and trunks, and each vehicle was searched by a K-9 officer. Other general ticket holders were directed to a site roughly 3 miles away from the rally, where they were boarded onto buses and driven to the site.
The Hill has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed.
Updated at 6:43 p.m.
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