Amid escalating assassination attempts against the Republican candidate for the US Presidential Elections, Donald Trump, US authorities reported on Sunday (October 13) the arrest of a Nevada man, who was later released the same day on $5,000 bail. A large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from his possession. The suspect was scheduled to attend the former president's rally in Los Angeles but was stopped by deputies assigned to the location.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, speaking about the incident during a press conference, mentioned that the man was apprehended along with a shotgun, a loaded handgun, ammunition, and several fake passports confiscated from the vehicle he was driving.
"The man claimed to be a journalist, but as his claims were met with suspicion, authorities searched his unregistered black SUV with a homemade license plate. The search led to the discovery and confiscation of weapons and ammunition, along with multiple passports and driver's licenses bearing different names," Chad Bianco stated.
“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or the attendees of the event. Trump had not yet arrived at the rally when the arrest occurred," he added.
It is noteworthy that the suspect crossed an outer security boundary at the rally site but was stopped at an inner perimeter patrolled by the sheriff's department. Another security checkpoint closer to the rally site was also operated by the Secret Service.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the incident, the U.S. Attorney's Office released a statement asserting that former President Trump was not in any danger.
“The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident did not impact protective operations, and former President Trump was not in any danger,” read the statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
“While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing,” it added.
Significantly, security has been heightened at Republican candidate rallies after two prior assassination attempts. In the first incident, Trump was shot and wounded in the ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Later, in Florida, a man was indicted on an attempted assassination charge after authorities said he staked out the former president for 12 hours and wrote of his desire to kill him. Despite the third incident in Los Angeles, Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(With inputs from PTI)
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