Donald Trump seems to have faced yet another threat to his life when a man presenting fake VIP credentials was taken into custody after a shotgun, high capacity magazine and loaded handgun was found in his vehicle at a rally over the weekend.
Vem Miller, 49, was taken into custody after he was stopped at a checkpoint near the former president’s rally in Coachella, California on Saturday.
Local law enforcement claimed the incident is ‘probably’ a third assassination attempt – after Trump was shot in the ear in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, and an armed suspect pointed a gun at him in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September.
But a source close to Trump campaign downplayed the threat and told DailyMaill.com that the gunman was apprehended before posing any danger.
‘This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event,’ the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office insisted in a statement.
But Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told Southern California News Group: ‘We probably stopped another assassination attempt.’
Bianco, a known Trump supporter, told the outlet that Miller presented fake VIP and press passes at the checkpoint, which is what led to the search.
He will hold a press conference to brief the public about the incident at 6:00 p.m. eastern time on Sunday.
Miller was found to be in illegal possession of the firearms, magazines and ammo when his black SUV was checked by law enforcement on Saturday.
He was booked at John Benoit Detention Center, made his $10,000 bail – $5,000 for each of two misdemeanors for which he was charged – and as of Sunday was no longer in custody.
Miller has his next court appearance set for January 2.
‘There was no assassination attempt in CA yesterday,’ a source close with Trump’s campaign told DailyMail.com. ‘A man at a perimeter checkpoint had a gun but there was no incident.’
The latest comes as Trump’s protective detail remains on high alert following two assassination attempts against the former president.
The first came at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks struck Trump in his right ear before being shot dead by Secret Service. The would-be assassin killed one rally goer and critically injured two others with his rifle where he was crouched a few hundred feet from where Trump was speaking that day.
Then just two months later on August 15, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested in Florida when he fled the scene where the Secret Service fired at him.
Routh allegedly aimed a rifle at Trump while he was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach before the former president’s security detail saw the barrel of the firearm and deterred a second assassination attempt.