California: A U.S. sheriff stated that law enforcement likely thwarted a 3rd Trump assassination attempt after arresting a man with unregistered firearms near the Republican candidate’s campaign rally in California over the weekend.
The incident occurred at 16:59 PDT (00:59 GMT), just an hour before Trump was set to take the stage, underscoring the heightened security around him and the ongoing threats he faces with the election just over three weeks away.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco explained that deputies intercepted the suspect at a security checkpoint outside Trump’s event in Coachella the previous day.
Bianco said that, the suspect “showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with fake license plate, and loaded firearms, if you’re asking me right now, I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt.”
The man, identified as 49-year-old Nevada resident Vem Miller, was taken into custody without incident, the sheriff’s office said in a statement earlier in the day.
The sheriff added that as the suspect approached an outside perimeter, near the location of the rally, he “gave all indications that he was allowed to be there.”
Bianco added that the suspect had told authorities he was a member of the far-right group called Sovereign Citizens. The licence plate was also “indicative of a group of individuals that claim to be Sovereign Citizens”, but the Sheriff had not concluded that Mr. Miller was a member.
Bianco said that, “I wouldn’t say it’s a militant group. It’s just a group that doesn’t believe in government and government control, they don’t believe that government and laws apply to them.”
Mr. Miller was charged with two misdemeanour weapons offenses and released on a $5,000 (£3,826) bail and a high-capacity magazine. No federal charges have been filed at this time and Miller is set to appear in court on January 2, 2025.
This follows two previous high-profile assassination attempts on Trump earlier this year.
ALSO READ | Kamala Harris releases medical records, Pressures Trump on health
