The suspect is charged with firearms, but denies trying to harm the former US president and Republican candidate.

A US sheriff has said law enforcement officers have likely prevented a third assassination attempt on Donald Trump after a man was arrested with unregistered firearms at the Republican candidate’s campaign rally in California last weekend.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday afternoon, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said officers apprehended the man a day earlier at a security perimeter outside the former president’s event in the city of Coachella.

Bianco said the suspect “showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with (a) fake license plate and loaded firearms.”

“If you ask me now, I probably had officers who prevented the third assassination attempt,” the sheriff told reporters.

The man, identified as 49-year-old Nevada resident Vem Miller, was taken into custody without incident, the sheriff’s office said in a statement earlier in the day.

Miller faces weapons charges after he was found in possession of two guns and a high-capacity magazine, authorities said. He was released on bail and will appear in court on January 2, 2025.

In an interview with Southern California News Group, Miller — who said he is a Trump supporter — denied that he was trying to harm the former president.

“These allegations are complete nonsense,” Miller said. “I am an artist, I am the last person who would cause any violence and harm to anyone.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press news agency about the arrest.

“The U.S. Secret Service assesses that the incident had no impact on protective operations and that former President Trump was not in any danger,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Sunday. “While no federal arrest has been made at this time, the investigation is ongoing.”

The incident comes just weeks after authorities charged a man with trying to kill Trump at his Florida golf course in late September.

Prosecutors have accused Ryan Routh of trying to kill the former president while he played golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach on September 15.

Routh has denied that he is guilty of the charges against him.

The arrest in Florida marked the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump in recent months. In July, he was shot in the ear after a gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

That shooting led to fierce criticism and questions about the security protocols put in place for the event.

Last month, the U.S. Secret Service acknowledged a series of failures it made during the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, including “deficiencies” in advanced security planning and poor coordination with local police.