Law enforcement officers arrested an armed man with a fake press pass outside former President Donald Trump's rally in Coachella, California on Oct. 12, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Oct. 13.
Vem Miller, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident, was arrested at a checkpoint outside the rally site with an illegally possessed handgun, a loaded gun and a large capacity magazine.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told local media that Miller presented a fake VIP pass and press pass at the checkpoint.
“They were different enough to make the police nervous,” Bianco told the Press-Enterprise. “We may have prevented another assassination.”
Bianco described Miller as a member of the "citizens' sovereignty" movement, a reference to a group of radical libertarians who believe the government cannot legitimately exercise power over them.
Miller is a registered Republican, has a master's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and is running for state assembly in Nevada in 2022.
Miller has not confirmed or denied any intention to assassinate Donald Trump.
The 49-year-old suspect was released on $5,000 bail and is due to appear in court in January on charges of illegal possession of a weapon.
Donald Trump has survived two assassination attempts in the past three months. The former president and Republican presidential candidate narrowly escaped death at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July, when a bullet fired from about 150 meters away grazed his ear.
A gunman opened fire from a rooftop unprotected by the Secret Service, killing one campaigner and wounding two others. The suspect was killed at the scene.
The second assassination attempt took place at Mr Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September. A gunman who aimed at the former president from behind bushes was arrested by Secret Service agents.
The suspect in the Trump assassination attempt, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, attempted to join the Ukrainian army in 2022 but failed and then began a plan to recruit former Afghan commandos to fight for Kiev.
US intelligence agencies say Iran is seeking to assassinate Donald Trump and President Joe Biden has warned Tehran he would consider an attack on his former political rival an act of war.
Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz claimed last month that there are now five “assassination groups” in the US targeting Mr Trump, three of which are linked to Iran, Pakistan and Ukraine.
Another theory favored by some Republicans is that “an insider inside the Secret Service” is leaking information to these assassin groups, Mr. Gaetz told Breitbart News.
On October 11, President Joe Biden said he had ordered the Secret Service to protect Mr. Trump “as a sitting president” and provide him with any security assistance his campaign requested.
