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A man carrying illegal firearms, ammunition and fake passports was arrested near a Donald Trump rally in California on Saturday night in what a local sheriff described as a potential third assassination attempt on the former president.
Law enforcement officers from Riverside County Sheriff’s Department stopped a 49-year-old man from Las Vegas who was driving a black SUV at a security checkpoint close to Trump’s rally in Coachella Valley.
The man was taken into custody after he was found to be illegally carrying a shotgun, a loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine, ammunition, and multiple fake passports and licences, the sheriff’s office said.
“If you’re asking me right now, we probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt,” said Chad Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, in a press briefing on Sunday evening.
Bianco said the suspect, who was charged with firearms offences before being released, was believed to be a member of the anti-government group Sovereign Citizens. Members maintain that the nation’s laws do not apply to them, Bianco said.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said the incident did “not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event”.
Although law enforcement initially named the man as Vem Miller, officials said the man was carrying multiple passports and driving licences bearing different names in his vehicle.
Bianco said Miller’s vehicle was unregistered and carried a “homemade” licence plate. He had driven through a first security perimeter at the rally after claiming he was a reporter, before being arrested at a second. Bianco added that the sheriff’s office was in contact with the Secret Service and the FBI.
The arrest follows two assassination attempts on Trump which have sparked concern that America’s highly polarised election could trigger political violence. It comes as both Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris enter the final weeks of the race, which is all but tied in the polls.
Trump was grazed on the ear by a bullet in July while speaking at an election rally in western Pennsylvania. After ducking behind the podium, the former president stood up, pumped his fist and shouted “Fight, fight, fight” before he was rushed to hospital. Those words have become a potent campaign slogan.
Last month, the Secret Service opened fire on an armed man hiding in the bushes surrounding Trump International Golf Club as the president played, around 300 to 500 yards away. Law enforcement officials found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope in the foliage, along with two backpacks and a GoPro camera.
Earlier this month, Trump’s aides asked for security measures to be stepped up, including military aircraft, special armoured vehicles usually reserved for sitting presidents, decoy aircraft and flight restrictions over his residences.