Teen Tried to kill Trump

 

The teen arrested for allegedly trying to grab a cop's gun at a Trump rally in Las Vegas, Nev. told investigators he wanted to "kill Trump," federal court documents say.

According to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Michael Sandford approached a uniformed officer who was assigned to the event -- protected by Secret Service -- on June 18.

"Sandford began a conversation with the officer under the pretense that he was seeking an autograph. During the conversation, Sandford attempted to disarm the officer," the statement said.

Sandford was quickly taken into custody with little further disruption at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino, according to the LVMPD.

The incident is now being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.

Sandford allegedly told a Secret Service Agent that he had driven from California on June 16, 2016 to “kill Trump,” according to the criminal complaint filed today. He allegedly said that he “made a conscious effort to come to Las Vegas to kill Trump” after seeing in the news that the candidate would be there, according to the complaint.

According to authorities, Sandford said that he went to Battlefield Vegas gun range on June 17, 2016 to learn how to shoot a gun. An employee from the gun range recognized Sandford from his license and stated that he had fired at the range.

Sandford said had been planning to kill Trump for about a year, according to the complaint, and if he were on the street tomorrow that “he would try this again.”

Sandford, charged with one count of attempting to commit an act of violence on restricted grounds, also allegedly “acknowledged that he would likely only be able to fire one to two rounds and stated he was convinced he would be killed by law enforcement during his attempt on Trump’s life.”

"Additional charges are pending and this investigation continues by the Secret Service and our law enforcement partners. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot provide further details at this time,” said a USSS spokesperson in a statement.

“It was very quickly managed. Our security worked with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. It was over in seconds and it was really not disruptive to the event,” said Michelle Knoll, Senior Vice President of Communications for Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.

Sandford had his initial court appearance today, where he 

was remanded to custody. A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday, July 5, 2016. The federal public defender's office was appointed as defense counsel, according to court documents. The public defender's office was not immediately available for comment.