Man with weapons including high-capacity magazine stopped at checkpoint near Donald Trump rally
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Police officers in California arrested a man with weapons near a rally being held by Donald Trump, it has emerged.
The 49-year-old man was found in possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun and high-capacity magazine on Saturday afternoon local time.
Officers stopped him at a checkpoint near the rally in Coachella in a black SUV before Donald Trump arrived.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told a press conference on Sunday his deputies probably “stopped the third assassination attempt”.
However, a federal law enforcement official said there is no indication at this time there was an assassination attempt on Mr Trump on Saturday, NBC reported.
The Secret Service and the FBI are investigating.
VIPs and the media were being sent through police checkpoints where drivers were asked to open the boots and car bonnets of their vehicles, which were then searched by an officer with a dog.
Sheriff Bianco said his deputies became suspicious when the man approached the perimeter.
“There were many irregularities that popped up,” said Sheriff Bianco.
His officers “noticed the interior of the vehicle was in disarray and had an obviously fake licence plate”.
The man was found with multiple passports and driving licences with different names, his vehicle was unregistered and his licence plate was homemade, according to Sheriff Bianco.
The Secret Service said in a statement: “We were contacted as it happened and Secret Service agents conducted a productive intelligence interview.
“It had no impact on the event and we are looking into the circumstances and the backgrounds of the individuals.”
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The man was released from custody on the same day with a $5,000 (£3,800) bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on 2 January next year, according to online records.
He was charged with possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine, according to the sheriff’s office.
During the press conference, Sheriff Bianco was asked if he was being dramatic when he suggested his officers had stopped an assassination attempt.
“If we are that politically lost that we have lost sight of common sense and reality and reason, that we can’t say ‘Holy crap, what did he show up with all that stuff for and loaded guns?’, and I’m going to be accused of being dramatic, we have a serious problem in this country because this is common sense and reason,” he said.
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Mr Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.
The Republican presidential candidate was shot in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, when a bullet grazed his ear.
Last month, another man was charged with trying to assassinate the former president after Secret Service agents found him hiding with a rifle near Mr Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach. He pleaded not guilty.
