A British man was arrested on Saturday after trying to assassinate Donald Trump.
UK citizen Michael Sandford, aged 20, was arrested at a Trump rally held in the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It is understood Sanford had attempted to take a police officer’s gun to attack the Republican Presidential candidate.
According to the Las Vegas Municipal Police Department, Sandford approached a uniformed Las Vegas officer saying he wanted Trump’s autograph. After a brief conversation, the 20 year old Brit then attempted to take the officer’s weapon.
Sandford was turned over to the Secret Service, before being charged with an act of violence on restricted grounds by federal prosecutors on Monday.
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According to court research as presented in BuzzFeed News, Sandford did not have permission to be in the US and was unemployed. Papers filed at the court said he had been in the country for around 18 months and lived in Hoboken, New Jersey.
“Sandford then revealed that he made a conscious effort to come to Las Vegas to kill Trump,” a Secret Service agent said in court records.
“Sandford further stated that if he were on the street tomorrow, he would try this again,” the agent reported.
“Sandford claimed he had been planning to attempt to kill Trump for about a year but decided to act on this occasion because he finally felt confident about trying it.”
The Secret Service report then went on to add Sandford believed he would die in his attempt.
A British Foreign Office spokesman said of the situation: “We are providing assistance following an arrest of a British national in Las Vegas.”
