The British man who was arrested two weeks ago at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas after he attempted to seize a law enforcement officer’s firearm, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury.
Michael Steven Sandford, 20, of England, is charged with two counts of illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business and official functions.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each count. He is currently in federal custody and scheduled for an arraignment and plea hearing on July 6 at 3 p.m.
According to the indictment and previously filed criminal complaint, on June 17, Sandford, who is a British citizen and was unlawfully in the United States, allegedly went to a gun range in Las Vegas and took shooting lessons using a Glock 9 millimeter handgun.
The following day, on June 18, Sandford entered a political rally event for Trump at the Mystere Theatre in the Treasure Island hotel-casino. The event was under the protection of the U.S. Secret Service, and there were posters at the entrance to the event designating the grounds as restricted and under the protection of the U.S. Secret Service.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers were also present at the rally to assist with security. Inside the rally, Sandford approached a uniformed LVMPD officer and attempted to seize the officer’s Glock 9 millimeter handgun by grabbing the holster and handle of the firearm with both hands in an attempt to remove it from the holster. Sandford was immediately arrested and removed from the rally.
He later told authorities he wanted to kill Trump and would have gone to a rally in Phoenix if he had to.
