Man arrested outside Trump Coachella rally illegally had shotgun, handgun, officials say

A man was arrested outside former President Trump’s rally in Riverside County on Saturday and charged with illegal possession of a shotgun, handgun, and high-capacity magazine, according to sheriff’s officials.

Vem Miller, 49, from Las Vegas, was taken into custody and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio for possessing loaded firearms, as stated in a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies discovered the firearms and magazine after searching Miller’s black SUV at a checkpoint on Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive in Coachella around 5 p.m. Authorities noted that the arrest “did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event.” No further details about Miller or the incident were immediately available.

This arrest follows a recent history of threats against Trump. In July, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear before snipers from his Secret Service detail fatally shot the gunman, Thomas Crooks, who had opened fire from a nearby building. Tragically, a rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, was killed while trying to shield his family from the gunfire.

In September, police apprehended a man near Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Ryan Routh is suspected of intending to shoot Trump with an SKS rifle while hiding in the shrubbery surrounding the club. Prosecutors indicated that Routh had a handwritten list of dates and venues where Trump was scheduled to appear.