California Deputies May Have Stopped Assassination Attempt Targeting Former President Trump, Suspect Already Released

Riverside County, California, Sheriff Chad Bianco said he believes his deputies may have thwarted a third assassination attempt on former President Trump shortly before his Coachella rally over the weekend, while calling out the state's lenient laws after the quick release of the suspect.

19-year-old Vem Miller was arrested after authorities found multiple guns and passports in his vehicle at a checkpoint to get into Trump's Coachella rally Saturday evening. 

Although Miller denied trying to cause any harm during an interview with Fox News Digital , Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told "FOX & Friends" law enforcement may have foiled another attempt on the former president's life. 

Bianco said during a press conference Sunday that Miller approached the outside perimeter in a black SUV just before 5 p.m. and gave all indications that he belonged there and was allowed into the VIP area of the rally. 

Deputies were conducting thorough evaluations of vehicles coming in and immediately noticed some irregularities with Miller.

Bianco said the deputy who stopped Miller found multiple passports with multiple names , multiple driver licenses with different names, that the vehicle was unregistered and the license plate "was what we in law enforcement would recognize as one that is homemade and indicative of a group of individuals that claimed to be 'sovereign citizens.'" 

Officials said Miller was taken into custody without incident and later booked at the John J. Benoit Detention Center for possession of a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.

"Probably for the rest of the country, it's hard to believe that when we arrest people, they don't stay in jail, but that's a fact of life here in California," Bianco said. "Those crimes that we arrested him for were misdemeanors, and we do not hold misdemeanors in custody, so he was given a citation to appear at a later date."