Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

British man pleads not guilty in Trump shooting plot case

Trumps Rallies at Treasure Island

Steve Marcus

Michael Steven Sandford is removed by Metro Police officers as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally Saturday, June 18, 2016, at Treasure Island. The man was arrested after allegedly approaching a Metro Police officer under the guise of seeking an autograph, then trying to disarm the officer, police said.

A British man accused of grabbing a police officer’s gun at last month’s Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas and later telling authorities he wanted to shoot the GOP presidential candidate pleaded not guilty today in federal court.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach set an Aug. 22 trial date.

Michael Steven Sandford, who, according to Metro Police, was in the United States illegally when he drove from San Bernardino, Calif., to Las Vegas for the June 17 rally, stood stoically in a yellow jumpsuit. At his side were federal public defenders Brenda Weksler and Ryan Norwood, who later refused to answer questions from the media.

Sandford, 20, faces two counts of being illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business and official functions.

Police said Sandford, a native of England who was illegally in the United States, approached a uniformed officer at the campaign rally at Treasure Island and said he wanted to get Trump’s autograph.

Sandford then tried to take the officer’s gun, police said.

During an interview with authorities, Sandford later said he wanted to shoot Trump and was prepared to die in the assassination attempt, according to a criminal complaint.

During a June 27 hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr. expressed concerns about Sandford’s mental health.

Sandford has been diagnosed with forms of Asperger’s syndrome and autism, previously attempted suicide and once ran away from a hospital in England, public defender Heather Fraley said at the June hearing.

Court research shows Sandford didn’t have a job and received financial support from his mother after coming to the U.S. last year. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sandford stayed for nine months longer than he was allowed through the visa waiver program.

Sandford told Secret Service agents he drove his 2007 BMW from near San Bernardino to Las Vegas on June 16. The next day, he went to a shooting range and fired 20 rounds from a 9mm Glock pistol to learn how to use it, according to the complaint.

Sandford said he had been planning to kill Trump for about a year and finally felt confident about trying it, the complaint said.

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