A man with a loaded weapon was arrested on Saturday, Oct. 12, outside of Donald Trump’s rally in California’s Coachella Valley, with officials believing they thwarted another assassination attempt on him.
During a press conference on Sunday, Oct. 13, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco addressed the incident in Coachella, telling reporters, “I truly do believe we prevented another assassination attempt.”
According to a police report from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office obtained by PEOPLE, 49-year-old Las Vegas resident Vem Miller was contacted after his black SUV was found by deputies onsite at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive.
As he entered the outside perimeter of the rally, Miller had credentials that indicated he belonged at the rally with a VIP pass and claimed to be a member of the press. However, “irregularities” popped up as he made his way into the inside perimeter.
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Miller was “found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.” Multiple passports and multiple IDs with different names were also found in his vehicle, which was “in disarray,” Bianco detailed. Additionally, his vehicle was unregistered.
Miller was taken into custody without incident and was booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.
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The sheriff’s office noted that the incident “did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event” and the incident occurred an hour before the rally was set to begin.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Secret Service and FBI issued a joint statement on Sunday stating “the incident did not impact protective operations and former President Trump was not in any danger.”
The statement added, “While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”
Miller was released on $5,000 bail and will make an appearance in court at a future date. “We are actively engaged in working with Secret Service and FBI to ensure this person is followed up on and all the information they can gather,” Bianco said.
While addressing reporters on whether Miller was part of a far-right organization, Bianco noted, “There is absolutely no way that any of us are going to truly know what was in [Miller’s] head.”
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This is the third incident during the 2024 election in which weapons had been found near Trump. In July during a rally in Butler, Pa., when Trump was mid-speech, gunshots rang out and he was rushed offstage.
One bystander, firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed and two others were injured. The shooter, who was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed. The FBI called the incident an assassination attempt. Trump was injured by a bullet grazing his ear.
In September, multiple gunshots were fired near the Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach while Trump was playing golf. At the time, the FBI said they were investigating the incident as another assassination attempt.
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