The man who was arrested on Saturday at a rally organised by Republican Donald Trump's election campaign in Las Vegas for trying to grab a police officer's gun, told investigators that he intended to kill the presidential candidate, according to the Associated Press. Michael Steven Sandford said he “made a conscious effort to come to Las Vegas to kill Trump,” who he had been planning to shoot for a year. The British national, who does not have a criminal record, did not enter a plea at the court.

According to the interview conducted after his arrest, Sandford went to Las Vegas to learn to shoot with the sole motive of killing the New York business tycoon. The 20-year-old set off alarms when he tried to grab an officer's service weapon. He said he went for the weapon as he noticed that it was unlocked. He was aware that the gun could fire only about two rounds, and had things gone his way, he expected to die while making the attempt. He said had he not tried there, he would have made an attempt at the next rally.

Sandford has been living in the US for the past year-and-a-half, though his visa is expired. He is unemployed and used to live out of his car. Pleading for a lenient order, a federal public defender informed the Nevada judge that the accused had autism and had tried to commit suicide in the past. The US presidential elections are scheduled for November 8.