Posted on June 21, 2016

UK Man Arrested at Rally Planned to Kill Trump, Agents Say

Michelle Rindels, Associated Press, June 21, 2016

A British man arrested at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas tried to grab a police officer’s gun so he could kill the presidential candidate after planning an assassination for about a year, authorities said.

Michael Steven Sandford, 20, approached an officer at the campaign stop last weekend to say he wanted Trump’s autograph but then tried to take the weapon, U.S. Secret Service agents said.

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His court-appointed attorney said he was living out of his car and was in the country illegally after overstaying a visa.

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Sandford told officers he was convinced he would die in the assassination attempt. He said he also reserved a ticket for a Trump rally in Phoenix, scheduled for later Saturday, as a backup plan.

Authorities said Sandford told them he had been in the U.S. for about a year and a half, lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, and drove to the San Bernardino, California, area before coming to Las Vegas on Thursday.

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Michael Steven Sandford

Michael Steven Sandford