As he waited in line for nine hours to see Donald Trump, Gregg Donovan slowly began to get a strange vibe from the young man standing next to him.
Donovan, a down-on-his-luck Hollywood entertainer turned telegenic Trump supporter, had driven for four hours to hear the presumptive GOP presidential candidate speak at a Las Vegas rally.
So had Michael Steven Sandford, but for very different reasons.
“Why do you like Donald Trump?” Sandford asked Donovan shortly after they met in line inside the glitzy Treasure Island Casino.
The question wasn’t unusual for a Trump rally, but Sandford was. Most people waiting for the June 18 event were kitted out in kitsch supporting their candidate, but Sandford was clad in a plain gray t-shirt. Unlike most other early arrivals, he was young: just 20 years old. And unlike others, he had a British accent.
But it was his reaction to Donovan’s enthusiasm for Trump that suggested Sandford was seriously out of place.
Donovan, 56, told the young man how he had met Trump and the billionaire had promised to get him his job back.
Instead of showing support, however, Sandford responded by looking away, almost rolling his eyes.
And when Donovan returned minutes later dressed in a black top hat and red tailcoat — both plastered with Trump memorabilia — Sandford appeared to shudder.
“He seemed a little bit repulsed,” Donovan told The Washington Post.
Hours later, Sandford’s strange attitude in line would suddenly make more sense when, as Trump delivered his speech, Sandford allegedly tried to grab a gun from a Las Vegas Police officer to shoot the candidate.
“Sandford told [the Secret Service] he drove here from California on June 16, 2016 to kill Trump,” according to a federal criminal complaint filed Monday. “Sandford claimed he had been planning to attempt to kill Trump for about a year but decided to act on this occasion because he finally felt confident about trying it.”
Sandford was arrested before he could pull the police officer’s gun from its holster. He has been charged with an “act of violence on restricted grounds,” punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The bizarre incident appears to be the most serious of the skirmishes and protests that have marred Trump rallies across the country.
Perhaps because of that pattern, the alleged attempt hardly seemed to cause a stir for the Trump campaign.
The candidate himself didn’t appear to realize at the time that Sandford had allegedly tried to grab a gun and shoot him. Instead, Trump said “We love our police” as officers escorted Sandford out of the casino’s Mystere Theatre.
As of Tuesday morning, Trump had not tweeted or spoken publicly about the incident, apparently more concerned with the firing of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
Little is known about Sandford, who appeared in U.S. District Court in Nevada on Monday wearing leg irons and appearing to tremble, according to the Associated Press.
Heather Fraley, his assigned public defender, said Sandford appeared to be competent but has autism and has previously attempted suicide.
Sandford’s mother, meanwhile, told court researchers that he was treated for obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia when he was younger, and that he once ran away from a hospital in England, the AP reported.
Sandford doesn’t have a criminal history, said Fraley, arguing her client should be released to a halfway house.
But Judge George Foley denied Sandford bail, saying the suspect was a potential danger to the community and a flight risk.
Sandford has not entered a plea, according to the AP.
Despite the strange vibe he got from Sandford as the two stood in line Saturday morning, Donovan said he was “shocked” when he learned Monday of the accusations against Sandford.
According to the complaint, Sandford arrived in the United States about 18 months ago, living in Hoboken, N.J., before moving to the San Bernardino, Calif., area.
His attorney said Monday in court that Sandford had been living out of his car — a black BMW sedan — after overstaying his visa, the AP reported.
Sandford had been plotting to kill Trump for the past year, according to the complaint, although his motive was unclear.
On June 16, two days before the Saturday rally, Sandford drove from California to Las Vegas in anticipation of Trump’s speech.
On Friday, he went to Battlefield Vegas, a local gun store where visitors can shoot a wide range of weapons and even crush a car with a tank.
“According to Sandford he fired 20 rounds from a 9mm Glock pistol for the purpose of learning how to use it,” according to the complaint. “Sandford claimed that this was the first time he had ever fired a gun.”
There was little sign of Sandford’s alleged intentions when he met Donovan just before midnight Friday.
Sandford was the fourth person in line to see Trump speak at 11 a.m. the following morning.
According to the complaint, Sandford thought he spotted Las Vegas Police officer Ameel Jacob’s gun unsecured in its holster. He approached the officer, pretending to seek Trump’s autograph, “then attempted to seize the sidearm of Officer Jacob by grabbing the holster and handle of the firearm with both hands,” according to the complaint.
“When Sandford was asked why he attempted to grab Officer Jacob’s sidearm, Sandford replied, ‘To shoot and kill Trump,'” the complaint says. “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 during his attempt on Trump’s life.”
Sandford is due back in court July 5.
