Gunman arrested near Trump's California rally planned to kill him, police say | US elections 2024

A man armed with weapons and fake press and VIP credentials was arrested by authorities at a Donald Trump campaign rally in California on Saturday.

The suspect, identified as Vem Miller, was intercepted by police at a checkpoint about a half-mile from the entrance to the rally in California's Coachella Valley just before the rally began, police said Sunday.

“We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said, adding that Miller planned to kill Trump.

Police said Miller was carrying a loaded shotgun, a handgun and a high-capacity magazine and was believed to be a member of a right-wing anti-government organization.

He holds a UCLA master's degree and ran for the Nevada State Legislature in 2022. Bianco said Miller considers himself a so-called sovereign citizen, a group of people who do not believe they are subject to any government laws unless they agree to them.

Bianco said Miller's ID was enough to raise suspicions among local rally security. “They were so different that they worried deputies,” he said, according to the Riverside Press Enterprise.

Miller was charged with possession of a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine – and released after posting $5,000 bail, police records show.

The Secret Service released a statement saying it was aware of the arrest: “The incident had no impact on protective measures.” The Secret Service thanks the deputies and local partners who helped secure last night's events have.”

Sheriff Bianco told the outlet he did not expect a third assassination attempt on Trump after Trump was hit by an assassin's bullet at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July and the arrest of a man with a rifle who was in had hidden in the bushes near Trump's home at Palm Beach Golf Course in September.

“I thought this wouldn’t happen in Riverside County,” Bianco said. “We don’t have the same crazy problems and violent protests that we have in Los Angeles. We’re better than this. Imagine that.”

Bianco said U.S. Secret Service officials said his department “did everything possible” in its efforts to protect Trump and others at the rally.

Bianco also said the FBI is questioning another man after bomb-sniffing dogs “repeatedly” identified him as potentially dangerous. This man was not allowed into the rally, Bianco said.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office inmate database, Miller is scheduled to appear at the Indio Larson Justice Center on January 2, 2025.