2016 Donald Trump Las Vegas rally incident
failed pistol grab at June 2016 Donald Trump Las Vegas rally
On June 18, 2016, at a rally for Donald Trump's 2016 United States presidential campaign in Paradise, Nevada, Michael Steven Sandford, a 20-year-old British citizen, attempted to grab the service pistol of a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer providing security for the event. Having failed to do so and having been arrested, Sandford claimed that he had wished to kill Trump to prevent him from being elected U.S. president.
Sandford was only charged with disorderly conduct and with being an "illegal alien in possession of a firearm" (for having previously rented a pistol at a shooting range). On September 13, 2016, he pleaded guilty to both charges. Sandford was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day of imprisonment, and was released and deported to the United Kingdom after 11 months in custody.
Sandford had a history of mental disorders, and the incident prompted criticism of mental health care in the United Kingdom. While the incident did not receive sustained media coverage in the United States, it was the subject of a documentary commissioned by the BBC in February 2017.
Background
Sandford, aged 20, traveled from his home in Dorking, Surrey, United Kingdom, to the United States for an extended California vacation in early 2015. In June 2016, he acquired a ticket for the Trump campaign event, also reserving a ticket for a rally to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, later the same day.
On June 16, 2016, Sandford drove to Las Vegas, where he visited the shooting range Battlefield Vegas for instruction and practiced shooting a rented 9mm Glock 17 pistol.
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