Michael Sandford, the 20-year-old British man who was arrested after attempting to steal a gun from a police officer at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas eight days ago, has cited his motive to his bewildered father from behind the bars of a Vegas prison. To quote Michael, ““Someone had to stand up for America.”
Michael reportedly suffers from Aspergers Syndrome and OCD and has spent time in a psychiatric hospital. According to his baffled mother, he has never been politically impassioned and “He wouldn’t hurt a hair on anybody’s head – everybody has said that.”
“@justinjm1: British parents: Our son is lovesick and autistic—not an assassin https://t.co/Xc4U7EPIGg https://t.co/3zrl3utiVj” please read
— liam cunningham (@liamcunningham1) June 21, 2016
The boy’s father, Paul Davey, traveled from England to visit his son at the Nevada South Detention Center on the outskirts of Las Vegas, where his son is locked up in segregation next to Mexican gangsters in scorching 100+ degree heat.
Paul Davey told the Daily Mail:
“I asked him what happened and he would only say that if Trump was elected, it would change the world and that somebody had to stand up for America.
“I have never heard him talk like that before. I can’t understand why he was so motivated and politicized that he thought grabbing a gun from a policeman was a good idea.”
Michael’s father claims that his son, who was seen trembling in his shackles in court following the incident, spends 22 hours a day alone in the cell and doesn’t even know what the charges are against him.
Mr. Davey also claims that his son was likely brainwashed by the people he was living with in the States.
“I think the people he met, and was living with, may know what motivated Michael. Did someone start feeding him information? Did they set him up for it? I really think he has been brainwashed.”
Although I appreciate Michael’s sentiment in “standing up for America,” shooting a presidential hopeful is no way to be a martyr. Hopefully this kid gets the psychological help he needs to suppress these demons.
Is Donald Trump’s Presidential Run Inspiring Violence?
http://players.brightcove.net/3662002698001/5d3ea8fe-0a32-48fa-bc51-66e4657483dd_default/index.html?videoId=4802446839001
[h/t NY Post]