Man charged after being arrested with guns near Trump rally

Coachella, California: A Nevada man with a shotgun, a loaded handgun and ammunition in his vehicle was arrested at a security checkpoint outside Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday night in the southern California desert, authorities said on Monday (AEDT).

The suspect, a 49-year-old resident of Las Vegas, was driving an unregistered black SUV with a “homemade” licence plate and was stopped by deputies assigned to the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference.

Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, California, on Saturday.Credit: AP

The driver claimed to be a journalist, but it was unclear if he had the proper credentials. Deputies noticed the interior of the vehicle was “in disarray” and a search uncovered the weapons and ammunition, along with multiple passports and driver licences with different names, Bianco said.

Bianco declined to speculate about the suspect’s motives or frame of mind. “We know we prevented something bad from happening, and it was irrelevant what that bad was going to be,” Bianco said. But later, when pressed about his earlier remark about a foiled assassination plot on Trump’s life, he said: “I really do believe we avoided an assassination attempt.”

The arrested man was a member of the sovereign citizens movement, a group that believes government, law enforcement and tax authorities should not interfere in people’s lives, Bianco said. The case had been handed to the FBI.

He also said it was up to federal investigators to prove if it was indeed a plot to kill Trump.

Bill Melugin, a Fox News correspondent, posted on X that sources close to the Trump campaign told him there was no assassination attempt.

The Trump X account posted a video from the rally, saying it was a “beautiful evening in Coachella, California last night. Thank you!”

The sheriff said the man, identified as Vem Miller, was charged with 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,” the sheriff’s department statement said in an earlier statement.

Trump narrowly survived an assassination 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 trying to assassinate Trump after Secret Service agents discovered him hiding with a rifle near Trump’s Palm Beach golf course. He pleaded not guilty.

Trump’s rally on Saturday took place in the Coachella Valley, an area known for its annual music and arts festival.

Media members, as well as VIP ticket holders to the rally, 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 about five kilometres away from the rally, where they were boarded onto buses and driven to the site.

Bianco said the man made it past an outer security boundary and was stopped at an inner perimeter patrolled by the sheriff’s department. The Secret Service operated another security checkpoint closer to the rally site.

The US Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Sunday: “The US Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations and former president Trump was not in any danger. While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”

Jail records show Miller was released on $US5000 ($7400) bail on Saturday. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.

The suspect is scheduled to appear in court on January 2, according to online records.

AP, Reuters

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