Attempted assassination of Donald Trump
| Attempted assassination of Donald Trump | |
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Donald Trump addressing a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada in February 2016.
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| Location | Mystère Theater, Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°07′29″N 115°10′19″W / 36.12472°N 115.17194°WCoordinates: 36°07′29″N 115°10′19″W / 36.12472°N 115.17194°W |
| Date | June 18, 2016 c.9:00 AM (Pacific) |
| Target | Donald Trump |
| Weapons | 9mm Glock 17 pistol |
| Deaths | 0 |
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Non-fatal injuries
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0 |
| Perpetrator | Michael Steven Sandford |
| Motive | Prevent Trump from becoming President of the United States |
On June 18, 2016, Michael Steven Sandford was arrested at a Donald Trump presidential campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States after he attempted to seize the pistol of a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer providing security for the event. At the time, Trump was the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for the 2016 United States presidential election.
Sandford, a 20-year-old British citizen who had a lengthy history of mental disorders, stated that he had wished to kill Trump to prevent him from becoming President. He was charged with impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business and official functions and with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. On September 13, 2016, he pled guilty to both charges. On December 13, 2016, he was sentenced to 12 months and one day imprisonment. He was released and deported to the United Kingdom in May 2017.
The incident received limited media coverage in the United States. Some conservative publications criticized the length of Sandford's prison sentence. In the United Kingdom, the incident prompted calls for changes to the Mental Capacity Act in light of Sandford's mental disorders and was the subject of a BBC documentary.
Sandford spent one year planning the assassination, deciding to attempt it while Trump was addressing a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 18, 2016. He acquired a ticket for the event, also reserving a ticket for a rally to be held in Phoenix, Arizona later the same day in case an opportunity did not arise. Sandford considered using a knife or rifle before deciding to attempt the assassination using a pistol.
On June 16, 2016, Sandford drove to Las Vegas, where he visited a shooting range and practiced shooting using a rented 9mm Glock 17 pistol. This was the first time in his life Sandford had fired a gun. Due to his status as an illegal alien, the rental of a firearm was illegal.
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