Image copyright AP Image caption Mr Sandford was dramatically arrested during a Las Vegas rally for Mr Trump 
 
 A British man has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison over his attempt to grab a gun in a bid to kill Donald Trump. 
 
 Michael Sandford, 20, pleaded guilty in September to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function. 
 
 He was accused of grabbing a policeman's gun at a rally in Las Vegas in order to shoot at the candidate. 
 
 His mother says "he is remorseful over what he did". 
 
 Sandford, of Dorking, Surrey, had faced up to 10 years in prison over the alleged assassination plot. 
 
 The court heard that he could be eligible for release in four months' time, at which point he will be deported to the UK. 
 
 The defence team said their client is autistic and suffers seizures and obsession-compulsion anxiety. 
 
 In the courtroom - James Cook, BBC News, Las Vegas 
 
 Michael Sandford appeared in court in orange prison garb, looking pale and slight, his ankles shackled. 
 
 He smiled as members of his family waved to him and mouthed: "I love you." 
 
 Sandford then broke down in tears as he apologised for what he had done and for taking up time and costing the taxpayer money. 
 
 "I just feel terrible about it," he said. 
 
 The judge James Mahan appeared sympathetic, telling Sandford: "I don't think you harboured malice in your heart." 
 
 His mother, Lynne Sandford, also addressed the judge, saying her son was "cherished and adored". 
 
 "It breaks my heart to see him in this environment," she said, as she appealed for a lenient sentence on the basis that her son needed treatment and the support of his family. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Michael Sandford, with his mother Lynne 
 
 After Sandford was arrested, he told officers he had planned to shoot the billionaire Republican candidate. 
 
 He failed to pull the weapon from an officer's holster, the court heard. 
 
 His mother said that she had lost contact with her son after he left home to travel around the US in 2015. 
 
 He had previously shown no interest in politics, and she was unable to explain why he would want to shoot Mr Trump. 
 
 According to court documents, Sandford, who was homeless and living in the US illegally having overstayed his visa, told the Secret Service that he had driven from California to Nevada with the goal of shooting Mr Trump. 
 
 The papers detail how he had been plotting the attack for around a year and had gone to a gun range in Las Vegas the day before the attack to learn how to shoot, firing 20 rounds from a 9mm Glock pistol. 
 
 Image copyright Family Handout Image caption Sandford pleaded guilty to lesser charges in order to avoid a lengthy prison sentence 
 
 He reportedly told an officer that he had expected to die in the attack but that he also had tickets for a later Trump rally in Arizona in case he needed a second chance. 
 
 Judge James C Mahan described the incident as "a crazy stunt". 
 
 "You have a medical problem," the judge told Sandford, adding that it is "nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about." 
 
 "I don't see you as evil or a sociopath," the judge said, wishing Sandford luck as he rose to leave the courtroom. 

 A British man was sentenced Tuesday to one year and one day in prison for two felonies stemming from his attempt to grab a Las Vegas police officer’s gun at a Donald Trump campaign rally in June. 
 
 With credit for time served and good behavior, Michael Steven Sandford, 20, faces another four months in federal custody under the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge James Mahan. 
 
 Sandford pleaded guilty to in June to one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business and official functions. As part of a plea bargain, a second firearm charge was dropped. 
 
 After serving his prison time, Sandford will be subject to three years of supervised release, though his defense attorneys expect he’ll instead be deported. 
 
 Michael Sandford, who tried to shoot Donald Trump is sentenced to 1 year & 1 day in prison @reviewjournalpic.twitter.com/XddZi0X34H — Bizuayehu Tesfaye (@bizutesfaye) December 13, 2016 
 
 Sandford was arrested June 18 at Treasure Island at the Trump rally after he attempted to grab the police officer’s firearm in what he later told investigators was an attempt to shoot and kill Trump. 
 
 Sandford had approached the officer and asked about getting Trump’s autograph. As the officer responded, Sandford grabbed his gun with both hands and unsuccessfully attempted to remove it from the holster. 
 
 ‘I JUST FEEL TERRIBLE’ 
 
 No shots were fired and no one was injured in the incident. 
 
 “I feel so bad about what I did,” Sandford told the judge, his voice cracking with emotion. “I just feel terrible.” 
 
 Sandford’s mental health problems played a role in the sentence, which was less than the 1 1/2 years in prison that federal prosecutors had recommended. 
 
 Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Schiess argued in favor of a longer sentence, saying more time behind bars would help ensure Sandford is no longer a threat. 
 
 A sentencing memorandum filed by assistant federal public defender Brenda Weksler on Sandford’s behalf says he has a history of mental health problems that dates back to when he experienced hallucinations when he was 8 years old. At the time, he expressed suicidal thoughts and was hyperventilating from “hallucinations of aliens wanting to kill him,” the document says. 
 
 He also was diagnosed with autism and an obsessive compulsive disorder that led doctors to recommend that he live alone, records show. 
 
 Weksler told the court Sandford has a supportive family and understands the importance of being treated for his mental health problems. 
 
 MOTHER URGES LENIENCE 
 
 His mother, Lynne Sandford, said in court that he made a “huge error of judgment,” adding “it breaks my heart to see him in this environment.” 
 
 “He’s very remorseful for what he did,” she said. 
 
 She and other family members declined comment afterward. The mother told the Las Vegas Review-Journal they were under an exclusive contract with another media outlet and could not do other interviews Tuesday. 
 
 Mahan urged Sandford to continue getting treatment. Sandford also apologized for taking up so much of the court’s time. 
 
 “That’s why I get the big bucks,” the judge responded. 
 
 At the time of the incident, Sandford was in the U.S. illegally on a tourist visa that had expired Aug. 30, 2015. He originally visited the U.S. for about a month in January 2015 and returned later in 2015 when his grandmother rented an apartment for him in New Jersey. Sandford’s mother lost contact with him and reported him as a missing person in May 2016. They reconnected after she learned of his arrest. 
 
 During questioning, Sandford told police that he believed Trump was a “racist” and “needs to die,” according to a Secret Service report. 
 
 When a Secret Service agent questioned him about his intent in trying to grab the officer’s sidearm, Sandford responded: “To shoot and kill Trump,” it said. 
 
 Sandford had told law enforcement that he drove from California to kill Trump and was living out of his car while working odd jobs. The day before the Trump rally, Sandford went to a gun range in Las Vegas and took shooting lessons with a rented 9 mm Glock pistol. 
 
 Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter. 

 Twenty-year-old jailed for 12 months by Las Vegas court for trying to grab police officer’s gun at Trump rally 
 
 A 20-year-old Briton has been jailed for 12 months by a Las Vegas court for trying to grab a police officer’s gun at a Donald Trump rally in June. 
 
 Michael Steven Sandford, who has autism, tried to get the weapon at a Las Vegas casino where Trump was addressing supporters during the presidential campaign. 
 
 He allegedly told officers after his arrest that he planned to shoot Trump. 
 
 'They said my son intended to assassinate Donald Trump. And my world just stopped' Read more 
 
 Sandford, of Dorking, Surrey, pleaded guilty in September to charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function. 
 
 He could have faced up to 20 years in prison if he had been convicted at trial of both charges. 
 
 Judge James Mahan told him: “You have a medical problem. You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it. You need medication. 
 
 “You’re not a hardened criminal. You’re not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have. I don’t think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do.�? 
 
 A tearful Sandford told the court: “I know saying sorry is not enough. I really do feel awful about what I did. I wish there was some way to make things better. I have cost taxpayers so much money. I feel terrible.�? 
 
 Addressing the judge, he added: “I’m really sorry to you and the court for taking up so much time.�? 
 
 As he has already been in custody since being arrested, he is not expected to have to spend a further 12 months behind bars. 
 
 
 
 Sandford did not get hold of the gun before he was arrested, and no shots were fired. 
 
 
 
 Court documents say that Sandford told a federal agent that he drove from California to Las Vegas with a plan to kill Trump. 
 
 His UK lawyer, Saimo Chahal, QC, of Bindmans, had argued that Sandford was delusional at the time. 
 
 The court papers also stated that Sandford had gone to a gun range in Las Vegas to learn how to fire a gun, which he had not done before. 
 
 Sandford told police he had been in the US for 18 months before the incident. He was unemployed, living out of his car and in the US illegally. 
 
 As well as autism, he also has obsessive compulsive disorder, severe depression, seizures, cardiac issues and Crohn’s disease, according to his family. 
 
 
 
 His mother Lynne Sandford, who travelled to the US for the sentencing with her mother Christine and four-year-old daughter Jessica, had appealed to the judge to allow her son to serve his sentence in the UK so he could get the right psychiatric help. 
 
 
 
 The family has launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover the legal costs relating to their bid to bring Sandford back to the UK to serve his sentence. 
 
 
 
 “Michael’s actions were completely out of character. He is an extremely vulnerable young man and we believe that he needs to return to the UK in order to serve his sentence,�? his mother wrote. 
 
 
 
 Until sentencing, Lynne Sandford had only seen her son once since he was arrested. 
 
 
 
 “During my visit to Las Vegas, I learned that Michael had been on suicide watch several times following numerous mental breakdowns,�? she wrote. “‘Suicide watch’ in the US involves being kept in isolation 24/7 for up to a week at a time. Other prisoners are allowed books, but these are taken away from Michael while he is in isolation. Michael isn’t even allowed toilet paper while he is in isolation.�? 
 

– A British man who confessed to plotting to kill Donald Trump has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal custody for trying to grab a police officer's gun at a rally in Las Vegas earlier this year. Michael Steven Sandford, a 20-year-old who has been diagnosed with autism, pleaded guilty in September to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and to impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business and official functions, charges that could have sent him to prison for 20 years if the case had gone to trial, the Guardian reports. The BBC reports that Sandford was tearful as he apologized in court for what he had done and for costing the taxpayers money. "I just feel terrible about it," he said. "You have a medical problem. You should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it. You need medication," the judge told Sandford. "You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have. I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do." According to court papers, Sandford was in the US illegally on an expired tourist visa at the time of the June 18 rally. After he was arrested for trying to grab the officer's gun, he told Secret Service agents he had driven there from California to kill Trump. With credit for time served and good behavior, Sandford will probably be out of prison and deported back to Britain in another four months, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. (He told agents he was prepared to die during the assassination attempt.)