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Los Angeles — A 19-year-old British man has been charged for trying to grab a police officer’s gun at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas in a bid to kill the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

According to a complaint filed in federal court in Nevada, Michael Sandford tried to disarm the officer at Saturday’s rally at the Mystere Theatre in the Treasure Island Casino before being overpowered.

It said the young man told a Secret Service agent after his arrest that he had driven from California to Las Vegas “to kill Trump,” and had been to a range a day earlier to learn to shoot as he had never fired a gun before.

“Sandford 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 agents during his attempt on Trump’s life,” the complaint said.

It added that Sandford told investigators he had purchased tickets for a rally in Phoenix, where he “would try again to kill Trump” in the event his plan in Las Vegas failed.

Video of his arrest carried by US media show a skinny man with short brown hair and a grey T-shirt being escorted out of the rally by police officers with his hands behind his back.

The prosecutor’s office said Sandford was ordered held without bond, as he was considered dangerous and represented a flight risk.
Britain’s Foreign Office is “providing assistance” in the case, a spokesperson said.

The complaint said Sandford had told investigators he had been in the United States for about 18 months, and had lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, before travelling to California.

It said Sandford told investigators that he had targeted officer Ameel Jacob’s gun because it was in an unlocked position and would be the easiest way to gain access to a weapon at the rally where those attending had to go through metal detectors.

“Sandford further stated that if he were on the street tomorrow, he would try this again,” according to the complaint.

It said Sandford told the Secret Service that he had been plotting to kill Trump for about a year and finally decided to act on Saturday, as “he finally felt confident to do it.”

His arrest comes amid one of the nastiest US presidential campaigns in recent history, dominated by violent rhetoric, with Trump lashing out at Mexicans, Muslims and other groups.

The real estate billionaire enjoys Secret Service protection but also has his own private security detail that has been accused of using unnecessary force to remove people from events.

A number of protesters have been arrested at his rallies where riot police are deployed in force and there have been mounting demonstrations during his campaign appearances in recent months.

Sandford is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on July 5. He faces more than 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty on the charge of “act of violence on restricted grounds.”

Meanwhile, presumptive US presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are viewed unfavourably by most Americans and neither candidate prompts much excitement among the electorate, according to a new poll.

Both Trump and Clinton are viewed unfavourably by nearly 60 percent of US voters, while fewer than 30 percent would be excited by either candidate’s presidency, according to a CNN/ORC poll released yesterday.

The poll also found that 56 percent would be afraid and also feel embarrassed if Trump is elected, while 46 percent feel the same about Clinton.

Neither candidate has gained universal support within their own party. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, 55 percent say they would pick Clinton as their party’s nominee, whereas 43 percent say they would pick Democratic rival Bernie Sanders.

On the Republican side, 51 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters say the party should nominate Trump and 48 percent would prefer someone else.

The CNN/ORC poll shows that Clinton currently tops Trump by a 47 to 42 percent margin in the race and only 22 percent of voters say their minds could change between now and the November presidential election.

A Monmouth University survey released on Monday found that 47 percent of registered voters back Clinton, while 40 percent support Trump.

“All signs point to 2016 turning out the most polarised electorate in memory,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement.

The survey came as Trump fired his campaign manager on Monday, and it followed an erratic response to the massacre in Orlando, Florida.

Omar Mateen, armed with assault weapons, stormed the Pulse Club on June 12, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others at the club, marking the worst ever mass shooting in US history.

In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Trump called for ethnic profiling of Muslims inside the US to combat terrorism. “I think profiling is something we’re going to have to start thinking about as a country,” he said. — AFP-PressTV.