Man with loaded gun arrested at checkpoint near Trump rally in Southern California | News, Sports, Jobs

Former Republican President Donald Trump gestures to the audience as he leaves a campaign rally at Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Nevada man with a shotgun, loaded handgun, ammunition and several fake passports in his vehicle was arrested at a security checkpoint outside Donald Trump rally Saturday evening in the Southern California desert, authorities said. He was released the same day on $5,000 bail. The suspect, a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident, was driving an unregistered black SUV with a “homemade” license plate that was stopped by deputies assigned to the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. The driver claimed to be a journalist, but it was unclear whether he had the required credentials. The officers noticed that the interior of the vehicle was “messy” and a search uncovered the weapons and ammunition, as well as several passports and driver’s licenses with different names, Bianco said. The man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine, the department said in a news release.
“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or event attendees,” indicates the Saturday press release. Trump had not yet arrived at the rally at the time of his arrest, the sheriff said Sunday. The suspect is scheduled to appear in court on January 2, 2025, according to online records. Bianco declined to speculate on the suspect’s motives or state of mind. “We know we stopped something bad from happening, and it doesn’t matter what that problem was going to be,” Bianco said. The man crossed an exterior security boundary and was arrested in an interior perimeter patrolled by the sheriff’s department, Bianco said. Another security checkpoint, closer to the rally location, was run by the Secret Service.
“The US Secret Service believes that the incident had no impact on protective operations and that former President Trump was not in any danger. » ” the US Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Sunday. “While no federal arrests have been made at this time, the investigation continues.”
Members of the media, along with VIP ticket holders, passed through a number of intersections manned by state and local law enforcement officers before arriving at a large grassy area where drivers were asked to open the hoods and trunks, and each vehicle was searched by a K-9 Officer. Other general ticket holders were directed to a site approximately 5km from the rally, where they were boarded by buses and driven to the site. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest. Security is tight at Trump rallies after two recent assassination attempts. Last month, a man was charged with attempted murder after authorities said he watched the former president for 12 hours and wrote that he wanted to kill him. The arrest in Florida came two months after Trump was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.