A man was arrested at a security checkpoint near former U.S. President Donald Trump’s rally in the Coachella Valley on Saturday, just weeks after Trump survived a second assassination attempt this year. The suspect, identified as 49-year-old Las Vegas resident Vem Miller, was found in possession of loaded firearms, multiple passports with different names, and a fake license plate, according to Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
The rally, which took place in the Coachella Valley, an area known for its annual music and arts festival, occurred amid heightened security concerns following previous threats against Trump. Sheriff Bianco stated that deputies stopped Miller’s black SUV at a checkpoint at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive at approximately 5:00 p.m. local time, just before Trump was scheduled to take the stage.
Miller was taken into custody without incident and charged with possession of a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine, both misdemeanors. He was released on $5,000 bail the same day, according to jail records. The sheriff expressed his belief that the department may have prevented another assassination attempt, though he acknowledged that his assessment was “speculation.”
“What we do know is he showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with a fake license plate, and loaded firearms,” Bianco said during a Sunday press conference. “I truly believe we stopped another assassination attempt.”
While Trump and event attendees were not impacted by the incident, federal authorities, including the U.S. Secret Service, confirmed an ongoing investigation but noted that no federal arrests had been made as of Sunday. A statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Los Angeles office emphasized that Trump was not in immediate danger.
This latest arrest follows a string of recent attempts on Trump’s life, including a narrowly avoided attack in July when a gunman’s bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Pennsylvania, and a September incident where a man was found hiding with a rifle near Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.
