British man to plead guilty in threat against Donald Trump in Las Vegas

The British man charged in a threat against Donald Trump at a presidential rally in Las Vegas has struck a plea deal.

Michael Steven Sandford, 20, has agreed to plead guilty to two felonies — an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and impeding and disrupting government business and official functions, according to court papers filed Friday.

He is to enter his plea on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge James Mahan.

In his 14-page plea agreement, Sandford acknowledges that he faces deportation, as well as possible prison time. His tourist visa expired on Aug. 30, 2015.

“The defendant’s conduct was both disorderly and disruptive to the government business and official functions and required Secret Service, law enforcement and security personnel to respond to the threat posed by the defendant,” the plea agreement states.

Last month a federal magistrate judge gave Sandford’s mother permission to arrange a face-to-face meeting with him inside a second-floor lockup at the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Brenda Weksler said at the time that the meeting could help facilitate a negotiation to return Sandford to England for mental health treatment.

Lynne Sandford, who lives outside London, mounted a media campaign to highlight the mental illness of her son and her concerns about his safety in federal custody in light of the issue.

Weksler contended that the younger Sandford suffers from “serious psychological problems” and once was on a suicide watch in custody.

Sandford was arrested June 18 at Treasure Island, the site of the Trump rally, after he tried to grab a police officer’s gun in an attempt to shoot the Republican presidential candidate, according to authorities.

At the time, he was living out of his car with his expired visa and allegedly told authorities that he drove from California to kill Trump.

Sandford acknowledges in his plea agreement that his arrest and removal from the rally disrupted Trump’s speech.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.