Coachella man charged with illegally having a shotgun, loaded gun near Donald Trump rally; UPDATED: Sun.
Officers said they found the two firearms and a "high-capacity magazine" when they stopped 49-year-old suspect Vem Miller in his black SUV at a security checkpoint.
The Riverside County Sheriff's said: "Miller was arrested without incident and it is anticipated he will be transported to the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside at some time [Thursday] morning." While he was later released, US media quoted him as saying he was a Donald Trump supporter and had never intended to harm the Republican presidential candidate.
A US Secret Service spokesperson said Trump “was not in any danger” and that protective operations were unaffected.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said the incident did not compromise Trump or any of those attending his rally.
No matter what was going on in the head of the suspect, Mr Bianco said he "honestly feel that we averted another would-be murder."
And he said it could be impossible to prove this was Mr Miller's intention, who he called a "nutter".
Bianco is an elected Republican who previously supported Trump. He also serves as a surrogate—or representative—for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign.
Miller himself told the Southern California News Group he was "stunned" by his arrest and denied allegations that he intended to harm Trump.
He said he "always" carried guns in his car but had never fired one.
Mr. Miller was then charged with two misdemeanor weapons charges, along with a $5,000 (£3,826) bail before he was released. Federal charges have not been filed.
Federal authorities have indicated they are continuing to probe the incident with a possibility of them filing further charges.
Watch: Sheriff says man arrested with guns near Trump rally was a 'lunatic'
In a police news conference late on Sunday, Mr Bianco provided officials' version of events. Kheriaty said the suspect walked up to an exterior perimeter where Trump was holding a rally "and at that point he presented himself, showed all indications that it was permissible for him to be there."
But when the suspect reached the inner perimeter "a lot of irregularities started coming to light," said Mr Bianco, noting that among other things, there was a phony license plate on the car and it was in "disarray" inside.
He added that several passports with multiple names and completed driving licenses were discovered in the car, along with "a home-made license plate" that wasn't registered either.
He further stated that the license plate was also “a symbol of a larger group of individuals within the Sovereign Citizen's world”.
Mr Miller told US media he was not a member.
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The incident - at 16:59 local time on Saturday (00:59 GMT, Sunday) police said - underlines the continuing fervour for security surrounding Trump and the threats against him with just over three weeks to go until election day.
That came after two alleged high-profile attempt to assassinate Trump earlier this year, prompting more security around him at events.
A Saturday before Mr Miller's charges, Trump held his second 2021 Butler rally, where he was bloodied in the ear by a sniper who fired multiple shots at him and killed one member of the crowd.
In September, another man was arrested outside of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and is being held on bond. The stock of a rifle can be seen sticking up out of bushes where the man was hiding near the golf course.
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