The father of Michael Steven Sandford, who stands accused of seeking to shoot Donald Trump in Las Vegas Saturday, explained that his son has multiple disabilities and he and his wife warned the American Embassy.
Paul Davey, the father, says his son is autistic and suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which impaired his development and caused him to leave school at age 15, according to London's Daily Mail newspaper.
Sandford has also received treatment for anorexia and has previously attempted suicide. Both his parents claim their son had shown no previous interest in politics and doesn't have a history of violence, but also note that their son rarely if ever shares details about his personal life with them,
GetSurrey.co.uk reported.
Davey suggests that his son may have been "blackmailed or put up to it," because, "It is so against his nature and obviously with his Aspergers, we think somebody has got hold of him and done something."
Sandford came to America 18 months ago to live with a girl he'd met in Hoboken, New Jersey. He overstayed his visa and doesn't have a permanent address or a job. He drove himself cross country in the car he'd been sleeping in, according to accounts of information that came out in his arraignment Monday.
According to Reuters, his parents contacted the American Embassy about their son being in the country.
"He's been refusing to come back and we were worried about him, we were in contact with the American Embassy ... (but) the American authorities said 'He's over 18 we can't do anything,'" Davey said.
The day before the rally, Sanford visited a gun range to learn to shoot, according to Special Agent Joseph Hall's complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada. Staff at the gun range confirm that he was there.
Sandford Complaint by Las Vegas Review-Journal
The judge denied bail, reasoning that he is a threat to the community and, according to his mother, at risk of fleeing the country, according to
LasVegasNow.com. He is charged with an act of violence on restricted grounds.
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