A man has been charged for trying to grab a police officer’s gun at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas, so he could kill the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Michael Sandford, who reportedly had a British driver’s licence on him, tried to disarm the officer at the June 18 rally at the Mystere Theatre in the Treasure Island Casino before being overpowered, according to a complaint filed in US District Court in Nevada.

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He has been charged with “charged with an act of violence on restricted grounds”.

“Sandford revealed that he made a conscious effort to come to Las Vegas to kill Trump,” the complaint states.

“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 told a special agent that he was in the US for about a year and a half and lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, then drove to San Bernardino, California, before coming to Las Vegas on June 16.

Sandford told officers he had been planning an assassination for about a year and was convinced he would die in the attempt.

He told authorities that he went to a shooting range in Las Vegas the day before the rally and fired 20 rounds from a 9mm pistol to learn how to use it.

Sandford told investigators he had also bought tickets for a rally in Phoenix where he “would try again to kill Trump” in the event his plan in Las Vegas failed.

– AFP