Politics & Government

British Man Who Wanted To Shoot Trump At Vegas Rally Deported

Michael Sandford, who has been in prison since the incident last June, had overstayed his visa. He suffers from mental illness.

Michael Sandford, the British citizen who suffers from mental illness and tried to grab a police officer's gun so he could shoot Donald Trump at a Las Vegas campaign rally, has been deported. Sandford had arrived in the United States on a 90-day visa in June 2015 and overstayed the visa.

Sandford, who has autism, was at a rally for Trump in June last year when he reached for a police officer's gun in an attempt to shoot Trump.

In September he pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function. (Subscribe to local news alerts on Patch).

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In December he was sentenced to one year in prison. He had been facing 20 years in prison but Judge James Mahan took not of his medical condition.

"You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it," the judge said. "You need medication. You're not a hardened criminal. You're not evil or sociopathic like a lot of people we have.

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"I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do."

Sandford's mother wrote a letter to the judge thanking him for the fairness he showed her son "and the way you approached his case and difficulties.

"You were very empathetic to the extent of his old — and new — health conditions, and showed a very wise manner and understanding of what led to this very unfortunate set of circumstances."

Photo via ShutterStock

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