Michael Sandford, a 20-year-old British national, tried to grab a police
officer's firearm at a campaign rally after practising pistol shooting
at a Vegas gun range.
A 20-year-old British man who tried to grab
a policeman’s gun at a Donald Trump rally in Nevada has told police he
had driven there from California to kill the presumptive Republican
nominee, court documents allege.
Michael Sandford was arrested on
Saturday at the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, where the property
mogul was holding a campaign event, the Associated Press reported.
He
has now appeared in court in Nevada, where he was charged with an act
of violence on restricted
grounds and remanded in custody without bail.
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According
to documents presented to the court, Mr Sandford approached a police
officer claiming that he wanted an autograph from Mr Trump, before
grabbing the handle of the officer’s gun and trying to remove it from
the holster.
Mr Sandford reportedly told officers that he
intended to kill Mr Trump. He is said to have told law enforcement
officials that he had been planning the assassination for up to a year
and did not expect to survive the attempt. Mr Sandford had a UK driver’s
licence and had practised shooting a pistol at a Vegas gun range the
day before the incident.
Public defender Heather Fraley said
Sandford appeared to be competent and hadn't been diagnosed with a
mental illness, but that he has autism and previously attempted suicide.
He was living out of his car, did not have a job and was in the country
illegally after overstaying a visa.
His mother told court
researchers that he was treated for obsessive compulsive disorder and
anorexia when he was younger, and that he once escaped a hospital in
England, according to Ms Fraley.
Attendees at the rally had to
pass through a metal detector before gaining entry. During his speech,
Mr Trump said the security screening process had prevented some audience
members getting into the venue in time to hear him speak. The
billionaire reality TV star blamed the delay on the US Transportation
Security Administration, though in fact the security at the Vegas event
was being handled by police, the secret service and the casino itself.
“I'm
not happy about it, but I have to put up with it,” Mr Trump said,
complaining about the delays. “They didn't bring enough machines.”
Federal
Magistrate Judge George Foley said at a hearing on Monday that Mr
Sandford, who has not entered a plea, was a potential danger to the
community and a flight risk.
Source: Independent.co.uk
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