London - The parents of a British man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump had called US officials to say they were worried about their son, his father said on Tuesday.
Michael Sandford, 20, was arrested after allegedly trying to grab a policeman’s gun on Saturday at a Republican Party rally for the presidential candidate.
He told the US Secret Service he wanted “to shoot and kill Trump”.
The school dropout, who had been living in the US, told police he had planned the assassination for a year and thought he would die in the attempt, US court papers said.
But Sandford’s father Paul Davey said his son was “peaceful” and was not interested in politics. He has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, and had become withdrawn in the past three months.
Mr Davey said that although he and Sandford’s mother were separated, they had contacted the American Embassy in London to say they were worried about him. But the couple claimed they were told: “He’s over 18, we can’t do anything.”
A friend of the family said Sandford had “a complete mental breakdown” a few years ago and had found everyday life overwhelming.
As a result, he only ventured out of his family home in affluent Dorking, Surrey, at night.
He even gave up his obsession with “robot wars” where home-made machines are pitted against each other.
His mother Lynne Sandford, 41, only learned of his arrest after a friend saw it on a TV news bulletin. She sent a statement to his US court hearing on Monday, saying he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and was anorexic.
Photographs of his childhood bedroom, posted on his father’s Facebook page, showed toy guns mounted on the walls and camouflage netting across the ceiling.
He was said to have been “obsessed” with the BBC TV series Robot Wars and bought three robots from the show and fought them at events around the country. John Findlay, who sold robots to him, told the Daily Mirror: “He was active in the robot community. He was a bit obsessed... calm, very quiet, a little weird and reserved.”
Jobless Sandford, who dropped out of school before his GCSEs and has no qualifications, appeared to have lived “off-radar” in the US.
He called his parents on Skype in front of a white background so they did not know where he was, and refused to discuss his personal life.
He had moved to New Jersey 15 months ago to be with a girlfriend, but then drove 2 500 miles to California, where he lived in his car.
He drove from California to Las Vegas last week after learning that Trump was due to speak at a rally.
He stopped at a gun range to learn how to shoot a pistol, firing 20 rounds – later telling police it was the first time he had fired a gun.
At the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, he approached a uniformed officer and said he wanted Trump’s autograph, before being arrested when he tried to grab the policeman’s gun in its holster.
He was accused of attempting to engage in an act of physical violence against Trump, which carries a maximum ten-year jail sentence, and was remanded in custody.
Mr Davey, of Havant, Hampshire, said: “He’s never shown violent tendencies before. He literally wouldn’t hurt a fly – he used to tell us not to use fly spray because he didn’t want any flies to die. This just isn’t him. It’s totally out of character.”
Daily Mail