On Saturday, a man from Las Vegas was arrested at a checkpoint close to former President Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella, California. The arrest occurred after law enforcement officials found him with multiple guns in his possession. In a press release on Sunday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Vem Miller, 49, “was found to be illegally in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told the Press-Telegram that Miller had presented fake VIP and press passes at the checkpoint. After deputies assigned to Trump’s Coachella rally came into contact with Miller in a black SUV at a checkpoint near the event, they discovered he was reportedly in possession of several handguns and was taken into custody without incident.
Miller was later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine. Fox News’ Bill Melugin said on Sunday that sources close to the Trump campaign had informed him there was no assassination attempt against Trump at his Coachella, California rally yesterday. They stated that a man with a gun was arrested at the perimeter of the event without incident.
Trump has previously faced assassination attempts, such as in July 2024 when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the rooftop of a nearby building where he had a direct line of sight to Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The former president was shot by a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear.
On September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh was apprehended after U.S. Secret Service agents saw the barrel of his AK-style rifle where he was hiding in the bushes near Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach.