A man who was stopped at a security checkpoint while driving near where Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was headlining a rally in California this Saturday has been arrested and charged with charges related to illegal possession of firearms, according to reports. indicated by local authorities this Sunday. The man, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident, was carrying two firearms and a high-capacity magazine.
The suspect, who was driving a black sport utility vehicle, was taken to the police station after his arrest Saturday without incident, according to the sheriff’s office. sheriff of Riverside County, California. The checkpoint was about a mile from where Trump was scheduled to deliver his campaign speech in the Coachella Valley, famous for its annual music festival. At no time were the former president or the audience in danger, according to the official statement.
Authorities have identified the detainee as Vem Miller, who was charged with possession of a loaded weapon and possession of a large-capacity magazine. Miller has been released on bail after paying $5,000 (about 4,500 euros).
Trump was wounded in the right ear in an assassination attempt while holding a rally last July in the town of Butler, Pennsylvania. The perpetrator of the attack was shot dead by Secret Service agents. In September, another man, Ryan Routh, was arrested near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and accused of trying to kill the presidential candidate. Routh had been detected by the Secret Service, who opened fire on him after seeing him hiding among some trees around the golf course with a semi-automatic rifle.
The Republican presidential candidate, who this Sunday offered another rally in Arizona, has not made any public statement about the incident so far. In September, his campaign team first reported “shots fired in the vicinity” of Trump on the golf course.