The deputies assigned to the former President Donald Trump’s rally in California’s Coachella Valley arrested a Las Vegas man at a checkpoint Saturday for allegedly having a loaded firearm, a shotgun and a high-capacity magazine.
The suspect, identified by deputies as Vem Miller, 49, was stopped in a black SUV at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella.
Deputies said in a news release that the suspect was “unlawfully in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.”
(credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Miller was taken into custody without incident, according to deputies. Following his arrest, he was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center on charges of possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.
Authorities confirmed that the incident did not jeopardize Trump’s safety or that of rally attendees.
The investigation is still ongoing and anyone with additional information is asked to contact Deputy Coronado at the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station at (760) 836-1600.
Saturday’s incident follows two assassination attempts on Trump over the past three months. In July, a the shooter opened fire at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring Trump when a bullet grazed his ear and killing a rally attendee. Secret Service Snipers shot and killed the shooter. And earlier this month, the Secret services arrested a man with an AK-47 type weapon on Trump’s golf course in Florida, 300-500 meters from the former president. The man, Ryan Wesley Routhhas been accused of attempted murder of a political figure in addition to firearms-related charges.
