Federal authorities are investigating after a man with guns in his vehicle was arrested Saturday after being stopped at a checkpoint near a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump.
The Justice Department said Sunday that the Secret Service and the FBI are investigating the incident in Coachella, California, about a quarter-mile from the rally site.
“The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident had no impact on protective operations and that former President Trump was not in any danger,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for Central California, said in a statement. “While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”
A federal law enforcement official said there is no evidence there was an attempt to kill Trump.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference on Sunday that the man in question was stopped at a checkpoint around 5pm local time on Saturday to enter the “inner perimeter” of security protecting the site, where all vehicles were to be stopped, when a The officer noticed that his SUV was sloppy inside and had “an obviously fake license plate.”
Officers found two unregistered firearms — a shotgun and a loaded handgun — and “several boxes of ammunition,” Bianco said.
The venue is a ranch used for competition and practice by the Empire Polo Club, which gave its previous home venue, in neighboring Indio, to concert promoters behind the renowned Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
The man who was stopped, identified as Vem Miller, said he was invited to the meeting by another participant and was allowed to attend at the same time as a journalist, Bianco said. Officers found several fake identification cards, including passports, under different names in the SUV.
Miller, 49, of the Las Vegas area, was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm and possessing a large-capacity magazine of the type banned in California, according to inmate records Riverside County. Both are violations.
Records show he was released before midnight. Bianco said further investigation into why he tried to get to the location under false pretenses is the purview of federal law enforcement.
A Secret Service official said in a statement: “We were contacted when it happened and Secret Service agents conducted a productive intelligence interview. It had no bearing on the event and we are investigating the circumstances and background of the individuals.”
An official familiar with the situation said Trump was not at the scene when the man was stopped.
When asked about the arrest, a Trump campaign official appeared unaware of the incident. When additional information was provided, there was no comment or response.
Trump, who was running for a second presidential term against Vice President Kamala Harris, was the subject of assassination attempts in July and September.
On July 13, a gunman punched Trump in the ear and fatally shot a man at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed. And on September 15, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, not far from his home, a man suspected of being a potential shooter was discovered hiding in bushes.
Bianco said the man arrested Saturday got through an outer perimeter after “giving every indication that he belonged there.” But he expressed confidence that the man did not have much chance of getting beyond the internal borders, especially with a story stating that he had been given permission to attend by a third party, which he said was not realistic.
“You can’t give away passes to a rally for a former president,” said Bianco, who has expressed his political support for Trump.
He said the entry process also included passing through metal detectors at a Secret Service pedestrian checkpoint at the entrance.
Bianco said the situation could have been much worse if quick-acting officers had not stopped the man from joining the rally early in the process.
“I was completely convinced that absolutely nothing would happen in that facility,” he said.
Bianco cited the allegedly fake license plate and what he described as the vehicle’s lack of paperwork, including registration, as indications that the man may have ties to the anti-government Sovereign Citizens Movement.
Miller was scheduled to appear in court Jan. 2 in the gun violations case in nearby Indio.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
