Police Thwart ‘Potential Third Assassination Attempt’ Against Trump At California Rally
A 49-year-old man from Las Vegas was arrested near President Donald Trump’s California rally on Saturday with a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced Sunday.
Deputies assigned to the rally approached a black SUV at a checkpoint near the intersection of Avenue 52 and Celebration Drive just before 5 p.m. Saturday, law enforcement officials said. Upon searching the vehicle, police recovered a shotgun, a loaded handgun and a high-capacity magazine.
The driver, who has been identified as Vem Miller, was taken into custody and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of possessing a loaded firearm and possessing a high-capacity magazine. Miller was released on $5,000 bail on Saturday ,and was scheduled to appear at the Indio Larson Justice Center on Jan. 2, 2025, according to a review of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department inmate database conducted by KABC.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco “We probably stopped another assassination attempt against Trump” pic.twitter.com/QNmxUyHkl1
— Anthony Scott (@AnthonyScottTGP) October 13, 2024
The investigation is ongoing, and it is currently unclear whether the suspect attempted to harm the former president.
Saturday’s incident potentially represents the third attempt on the former president’s life in less than 100 days. Trump was previously shot in the ear when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a nearby rooftop while Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. Secret Service opted to leave the roof uncovered, reportedly due to the heat, giving Crooks a clear shot at the former president’s podium.
The would-be assassin was confronted by a local police officer, who was forced to retreat when Crooks aimed his weapon. The gunman was then forced to rush his shots, one of which grazed the former president in the ear. Two additional Trump supporters were critically wounded while retired firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed while shielding his daughter from gunfire.
A little more than a month later, Secret Service agents engaged another would-be assassin outside Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida golf course. A Secret Service advance team spotted the barrel of a rifle sticking through the fence of the course and opened fire, causing the suspect to flee.
The suspect, later identified as 58-year-old Ryan Routh, was soon arrested without incident in nearby Martin County. Routh — who recently travelled to Ukraine and was attempting to recruit foreign fighters to fight for the Ukrainian government — is charged with attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer.
The attempted assassination charge carries a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
