Oct 13 (Reuters) – A man arrested on Saturday at a security checkpoint near Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rally in California faces weapons charges after he was found in possession of loaded firearms, multiple passports and a fake license plate, the local sheriff said on Sunday.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said he believed his department had prevented a murder attempt, though he acknowledged that was “speculation.” The suspect was released on bail on Saturday, jail records showed. A federal official said on Sunday that a federal investigation was ongoing.
“What we do know is that he showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with a false license plate and loaded firearms,” ​​the sheriff said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. “I truly believe we have prevented another attempted murder.” The 49-year-old man, identified as Las Vegas resident Vem Miller, was stopped by sheriff’s deputies in a black SUV around 5 p.m. local time Saturday and taken into custody without incident, the sheriff’s office said. Trump had not yet taken the stage.
Jail records show Miller was released Saturday on $5,000 bail after being charged with possession of a loaded firearm and a large-capacity magazine, both misdemeanors. He could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
“The incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or those attending the event,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles also said in a statement on its website Sunday that Trump was not in danger, citing the U.S. Secret Service. The statement added that while no federal arrest had been made, an investigation was ongoing.
Trump narrowly survived an attempt in July, when a gunman’s bullet grazed his ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. In September, another man was charged with attempted murder of Trump after Secret Service agents caught him hiding with a gun near Trump’s Palm Beach golf course. He has pleaded not guilty. Those attempts raised questions about the Secret Service’s security planning and response. Trump’s rally on Saturday was in the Coachella Valley, an area known for its annual music and arts festival.