A man was arrested outside of Donald Trump‘s campaign rally in California on Saturday (October 12) with the local sheriff speculating that they stopped a third assassination attempt.
The 78-year-old former president took the stage in the Coachella Valley to speak to supporters during the event.
However, a day later, a police report revealed that a man was apprehended while trying to enter the venue with illegal weapons.
Keep reading to find out more…
A statement from the Riverside County Sheriff was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by a reporter and reposted by TMZ.
“Deputies assigned to former President Donald Trump’s rally in the Coachella Valley contacted the driver of a black SUV at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive,” the statement reads. “The male driver, identified as Vem Miller, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.”
The statement continues, reading, “Miller was taken into custody without incident and later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine. This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event.”
According to reporting by USA Today, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that he “probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt.”
The outlet noted that he also had “multiple passports with multiples names” in his car and that he was driving with a falsified license plate.
Vem was released on bail. It is not yet clear if he will face federal charges.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Secret Service and FBI are aware of the Riverside Sheriff’s County Office’s arrest on Saturday,” the trio of agencies said in a statement shared with the outlet. “The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger. While no federal arrest was made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”
In July, there was an attempt on the former president’s life at a rally in Pennsylvania. In September, a man was arrested near his golf course with firearms.
We will update you as we learn more.
This week, Donald shared some very big family news.
