Investigators are still trying to determine why Michael Steven Sandford tried to grab a Las Vegas police officer's gun at a Donald Trump rally on Saturday with the intent of killing Trump, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Monday. Sandford, a 20-year-old Briton who has overstayed his U.S. visa by nine months, approached police at the Las Vegas casino during the Trump rally, saying he wanted Trump's autograph before grabbing for an officer's gun, U.S. Secret Service agents say; he was quickly apprehended, arrested, and removed from the rally.
Sandford told police he had been planning to kill Trump for a year, but only felt confident about his chances now, so he drove from San Bernardino, California, to Vegas on June 16, then learned to fire a handgun at a shooting range the next day. He was charged with an act of violence on restricted grounds, and U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr. denied bail, judging him a flight risk. Sandford had been living out of his car and was unemployed.
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His father, Paul Davey, told the Portsmouth News that his son was peaceful and his arrest was an "absolute shock." "Whether he's been blackmailed or put up to it, that's the only thing me and his mum can think of," Davey said. "It's so against his nature and obviously with his Asperger's, we think somebody has got hold of him and done something." You can learn more in the CNN report below. Peter Weber
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