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A man arrested at a security checkpoint near Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's California rally on Saturday faces gun charges after he was found in possession of loaded firearms, several passports and a fake car licence plate, the local sheriff said on Sunday.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said he believed his department halted an assassination attempt, although he acknowledged that was “speculation.” The suspect was released on bail on Saturday, jail records showed. A federal official said on Sunday that a federal investigation was under way.
“What we do know is he showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with a fake licence plate and loaded firearms,” the sheriff said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon. “I truly do believe that we prevented another assassination attempt.”
The suspect, a resident of Las Vegas, was driving a black SUV that was stopped by deputies assigned to the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The man, 49, was arrested on suspicion of possessing a loaded firearm and of a high-capacity magazine, the department said.
“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event,” the statement said.
Mr Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July and last month in Florida, authorities arrested a man was arrested after allegedly building a sniper's nest next to a golf course with the intention of shooting the former president.
Media members and VIP ticket holders were routed through a number of junctions manned by state and local law-enforcement officers before arriving at a large, grassy area where drivers were asked to open bonnets and boots, and each vehicle was searched by a police dog.
