Man arrested with guns near Trump's Coachella rally had 'homemade' license plate and multiple passports, sheriff says

Deputy assigned to the former President Donald Trump rally in Coachella Valley, California arrested a Las Vegas man at a checkpoint Saturday for allegedly carrying a loaded firearm, a shotgun and a high-capacity magazine.

The suspect, identified by officers as 49-year-old Vem Miller of Las Vegas, Nevada, was reportedly stopped in a black SUV at the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella before Trump arrived at the site of his rally Riverside County Sheriff's Office.

During a news conference Sunday, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, whose department assisted with security measures for the event, said Miller's car had an “obviously fake license plate,” prompting the department to investigate further.

In a news release Sunday, the agency said the suspect was “illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine.” Bianco said Miller's vehicle was unregistered and several passports and driver's licenses with different names were found inside.

Bianco said Miller was arrested without incident inside a much larger outdoor area surrounding the rally venue where officers were patrolling Saturday.

“The way it worked yesterday, only people were allowed to be inside the perimeter, outside the perimeter and in a vehicle if you lived there or if you had documentation showing you were going to that rally,” Bianco said.

He said Miller “gave every sign that he belonged there” as he approached the outdoor area of ​​the event, so he was allowed to continue driving. Officers then discovered the “homemade” license plate, Bianco said, and noted the interior of the vehicle was “in disarray.”

“The license plate, as we would see in law enforcement, was homemade and indicative of a group of individuals who claim to be sovereign citizens,” Bianco said.

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.

While the Riverside County sheriff said he believed an assassination attempt was foiled, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement that former President Trump was not in danger, and a federal official told CBS News that there was no evidence of one There is an assassination attempt in connection with this incident. The suspect was charged with two weapons offenses and released. According to a joint statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, no federal charges have been filed at this time and the investigation is ongoing.

Bianco said his department is actively working with the Secret Service and the FBI to continue the investigation.

“The US Secret Service believes that the incident had no impact on protective measures and that former President Trump was not in danger. Although there have been no federal arrests at this time, the investigation remains ongoing,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with additional information is urged to contact Deputy Coronado at the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station at (760) 836-1600.

Saturday's incident follows two Assassination attempts about Trump in the last three months. In July, a The gunman opened fire During Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, he injured Trump when a bullet grazed his ear and killed a rally attendee. Secret service snipers shot the shooter. And earlier this month the Secret service arrested a man with an AK-47-style weapon at Trump's golf course in Florida, which was 300 to 500 yards from the former president. The man, Ryan Wesley Routhwas charged with attempted murder a political figure in addition to firearms charges.