Federal authorities are investigating after a man was arrested Saturday with weapons in his vehicle after he was stopped at a checkpoint near a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump.

The Justice Department said Sunday that the Secret Service and FBI are investigating the incident in Coachella, California, about a quarter-mile from the rally site.

“The U.S. Secret Service believes the incident had no impact on protective measures and former President Trump was not in danger,” Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for Central California, said in a statement. “Although there have been no federal arrests at this time, the investigation remains ongoing.”

A federal police official said there was no evidence that there was an attempt to assassinate Trump.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference Sunday that the man in question was stopped at a checkpoint around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday to enter the “internal security perimeter” protecting the venue, where all vehicles are stopped should when an officer noticed his SUV was disheveled inside and had “an obviously fake license plate.”

Officers found two unregistered firearms — a shotgun and a loaded handgun — and “several boxes of ammunition,” Bianco said.

The venue is a ranch used by the Empire Polo Club for competitions and practices. The former home venue in neighboring Indio was given over to the concert promoters behind the well-known Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

The man who was stopped, identified as Vem Miller, said he was invited to the rally by another participant and at the same time allowed him to attend as a journalist, Bianco said. Officers found several fake IDs, including passports, under different names in the SUV.

Miller, 49, of the Las Vegas area, was booked on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a large-capacity magazine, which is prohibited in California, according to Riverside County inmate records. Both are misdemeanors.

He was released before midnight, records show. Bianco said further investigation into why he attempted to get to the venue under false pretenses is the responsibility of federal law enforcement.

A Secret Service official said in a statement: “We were contacted when it happened and Secret Service agents conducted a productive intelligence interview. It had no bearing on the incident and we are investigating the circumstances and background of the individuals.”

An official familiar with the situation said Trump was not at the venue when the man was stopped.

When asked about the arrest, a Trump campaign official said he appeared to have no knowledge of the incident. When additional information was provided, there was no comment or response.

Trump, who was running as the Republican candidate for a second term as the presidential candidate against Vice President Kamala Harris, was the target of assassinations in July and September.

On July 13, a gunman struck Trump in the ear and fatally shot a man at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed. And on September 15, a man suspected of being a suspected shooter was discovered hiding in the bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, not far from his home.

Bianco said the man who was stopped Saturday made it through an outside barrier after “he gave every sign that he belonged there.” However, he expressed confidence that the man did not have much chance of progressing beyond the internal realm, especially given a history of having received permission to participate from a third party, which he said was not realistic .

“You can’t give away tickets to a rally for a former president,” said Bianco, who has declared his political support for Trump.

He said the entry process also included passing through metal detectors at a Secret Service pedestrian checkpoint at the entrance.

Bianco said the situation could have been much worse if quick-responding officers hadn't stopped the man from attending the rally early in the process.

“I was absolutely certain that absolutely nothing was going to happen in that facility,” he said.

Bianco cited the alleged fake license plate and what he described as the vehicle's missing paperwork, including registration, as indications that the man may be connected to the anti-government Sovereign Citizens Movement.

Miller was scheduled to appear in court Jan. 2 in the weapons violation case in nearby Indio.