Sheriff says he believes his deputy thwarted an assassination attempt against Trump and his department is working with the Secret Service and the FBI.
COACHELLA, Calif.—The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department arrested an armed man outside the perimeter of a Trump rally in the city of Coachella in Southern California, 130 miles east of Los Angeles, on Oct. 12. Around 50,000 people showed up at the event, said the sheriff.
As a press conference the Sheriff said he believes his deputies helped thwart an assassination attempt.
The driver was initially allowed through an outer security perimeter, said Bianco at an afternoon press conference.
“As he got to the inside perimeter, where deputies were conducting obviously a more thorough evaluation of the vehicles that were coming in, there were many irregularities that popped up,” said the sheriff.
The interior of the vehicle was in disarray and it had a fake license plate, said Bianco, prompting further investigation. The driver was found to have in his possession multiple passports with multiple names and multiple driver’s licenses with different names, and the vehicle was unregistered. Multiple unregistered weapons were also found.
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The driver was taken into custody and booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.
He has since been released on $5,000 bond.
“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event,” said the department.
Earlier in the day Bianco told The Epoch Times in a text message: “We arrested a man trying to get in the perimeter with two firearms who ended up saying he was going to kill the president.”
Bianco confirmed at the press conference that he believes his deputies helped thwart a potential assassination attempt but declined to comment on the alleged statements made by the suspect regarding Trump.
The sheriff also told The Epoch Times an Iraqi national “who the bomb dogs hit on.” When asked about it at the press conference Bianco said “we are aware of our dogs and federal dogs that hit on people or things that we ended up not letting in,” saying he doesn’t have more specifics.
The sheriff said the man arrested is suspected of belonging to a “sovereign citizens” group that doesn’t believe in the authority of the government.
Bianco said the sheriff’s department is working with the Secret Service and the FBI on the case. Any further charges will be filed by the federal government.
This is a developing story.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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