Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said that he believed that the man was planning an attempt on Trump's life. "We probably stopped another assassination attempt."
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department arrested a man outside the perimeter of former President Donald Trump's California rally on Sunday who was carrying multiple guns and who the local sheriff believes was plotting a third assassination attempt. The man said he was in possession of fake VIP and press passes for the rally.
After the sheriff made the claim that a third assassination attempt on Trump had been thwarted, sources close the Trump campaign said that there had been no attempt made. "Sources close to the Trump campaign tell @FoxNews there was no assassination attempt against Trump at his Coachella, CA rally yesterday. We’re told a man with a gun was arrested at the perimeter of the event without incident."
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco had said that he believed that the man was planning an attempt on Trump's life. This would have marked the third assassination attempt on Trump since July 13. The location of the rally was the city of Coachella in Southern California, 130 miles east of Los Angeles.
The arrest took place at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella at 4:59 p.m. on Saturday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said, according to KTLA 5 in Los Angeles. The rally was scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
The man, later identified as 49-year-old Vem Miller of Las Vegas, was illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine. Miller was arrested and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.
According to the Riverside County Inmate Information System, Miller was released from the detention center Sunday on $5,000 bail. The Sheriff’s Office said the incident was handled without violation of any rally attendee’s safety.
Miller is reportedly a registered Republican and also a member of a an anti-government group of "sovereign citizens," who Bianco says are a group of people who eschew any government laws or statutes that they don't want to obey.
Deputies assigned to Trump’s rally said Miller rolled up in a black SUV to a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive around 5 p.m. He was found to be in illegal possession of a shotgun, loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
Bianco told the Southern California News Group on Sunday that he believes Miller was intending to assassinate Trump. Bianco said his deputies saved the day for the president with their keen observation that Miller was carrying fraudulent VIP and media passes at the rally checkpoint.
“They were different enough to cause the deputies alarm,” Bianco told The Press-Enterprise in reference to the passes. “We probably stopped another assassination attempt.”
The sherrif said he couldn't believe his community could ever be the scene of another attempted assassination. “I thought it’s not going to happen in Riverside County. We don’t have the same sicko issues and violent protests like they have in Los Angeles. We’re better than that. Go figure," the Press-Enterprise reported.
Bianco his personnel have already been praised by the US Secret Service for going “above and beyond” in their efforts to protect Trump and others who attended the rally.
“I am extremely proud of the mental and physical effort our deputies showed all day,” said Bianco, referencing the 100 degree temperatures at the rally site.
Bianco later gave a press conference where he detailed the events of the day. He emphasized his belief that his deputies had thwarted a third assassination attempt against Trump. Miller, however, contradicted those claims in an interview with the Southern California New Group, saying he was shocked at the allegations.
"These accusations are complete bullsh*t," Miller said. "I’m an artist, I’m the last person that would cause any violence and harm to anybody."
The Secret Service released a statement later in the day, in which they said that after their assessement, "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." They expressed their thanks to local law enforcement officials.
Bianco said he was "not really concerned with the statement that he gave the media after he was released from custody." He went on to say, in asnwering reporters questions, that Miller was "a lunatic."
"If you're asking me right now," he told reporters, "I probably did have deputies that prevented the 3rd assassination attempt" he said.
Miller was taken into custody, booked and arrested on fire arms charges, and while he was released, he is expected to appear in court. Bianco said that his office is working with the FBI and Secret Service "to ensure that this person is followed up on and and all of the information that they can gather." If there are additional charges, they would be federal.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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