A third assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump has been foiled, police say.
The suspect was caught near Trump’s Coachella rally in southern California on Saturday (local time) with a fake entry pass, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said.
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He was also reported to have been carrying a loaded shotgun and handgun.
The suspect is a 49-year-old man from Las Vegas who has been taken into custody, Sunrise reporter Tim Lester reported.
He was arrested just before 5pm (local time) after deputies assigned to the rally found him in a black SUV at a checkpoint near the rally, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“He was taken into custody without incident and later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Centre for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine,” the statement said.
The sheriff’s office added that the “incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event”.
Sheriff Chad Bianco from Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said police “made contact with the individual” before Trump arrived at the rally.
“As you can imagine … this was a very large event and in regard to previous attempts on the former president’s life this was not something that we were taking lightly,” he told reporters on Monday morning (AEDT).
“We had a very detailed plan in place on not only how we were going to keep the former president safe but how we were going to keep all of the attendees safe.”
Bianco identified the suspect as Vem Miller, 49, and explained he “approached the outside perimeter and gave all indications he was allowed to be there”, however a vehicle search uncovered multiple concerns.
“That vehicle had a fake licence place prompting further investigation,” he said.
“And during that investigation, they found multiple passports with different names and multiple IDs with different names.
As well as the fake documents, a loaded shotgun and a loaded handgun were found, Bianco said.
“We are working with the Secret Service and the FBI to make sure this person is followed up on,” he said.
“From my perspective, the firearms charges is what we booked him on … anything further will come from the federal government.”
Bianco said “at this stage” authorities could only speculate as to Miller’s motives, however he described him as “a lunatic”.
“If you’re asking me, I believe I probably did have deputies that prevented the third assassination attempt,” he said.
The suspect was released on a $US5000 ($A7406) bail, according to the Riverside County Inmate Information System.
The alleged attempt is the third on Donald Trump’s life in the past few months.
On July 13, 2024, the former president was fired upon by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks during a rally in Pennsylvania, with a bullet grazing his ear.
Two people were killed, including the shooter, and two others were injured during the rally, with Trump telling reporters that “by luck or by God” he was still alive.
On September 16, another man was arrested accused of attempting to assassinate Trump.
The suspect, identified as Ryan Routh, 58, was spotted with a rifle hiding in the bushes at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump was unharmed in the incident.
– With CNN