Gun Removed from Officer at Trump Rally

Americans are no stranger to violent news and disturbing events. Over the past twenty years, the United States (U.S.) faced the September 11 terrorist attacks, Oklahoma Bombing, both Iraq “wars,” and a host of other minor to major catastrophes. Viewers no longer are surprised to hear about death, depression, and despair on the nightly news. And they probably weren’t surprised to hear a man tried to steal a policeman’s gun to kills presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Presidential candidates face many dangerous scenarios. This is why the secret service provides round-the-clock protection to nominees, or, in Trump’s case, presumptive nominees. Though Trump seems to love the negative attention and dangerous comments, he may not have anticipated the repercussions of saying his peace.

In the News: Man planned to Kill Trump

Michael Sandford, a 19-year-old United Kingdom (UK) citizen living in California, traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada with one intention – to kill Republican Presidential Candidate Trump (Acosta and Clary).  Sandford tried to disarm a Las Vegas police officer June 18, 2016 at a Donald Trump Rally inside the city (Acosta and Clary). The young adult started talking to the police officer about the rally to distract him, reached for the officer’s holstered gun, and planned to shoot Trump (Acosta and Clary). Sandford was unable to carry out his plans since the gun’s safety was on, preventing the would-be assassin from firing into the crowd (Acosta and Clary). Several officers detained the man, and no further violence took place at the theater (Acosta and Clary). 

Court records from Sandford’s preliminary hearing in Las Vegas showed the man was in the U.S. illegally (Acosta and Clary). UK residents are allowed to enter the U.S. with a valid British passport and American-issued visa. However, the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows resident citizens from “friendly” nations to enter the U.S> temporarily without a visa or work permit (Bureau of Consular Affairs). UK citizens are allowed to apply for waivers (U.S. Embassy and Consulates in The United Kingdom). However, Sandford was in the U.S. on a temporary work visa, which had expired (Seipel). According to CNN affiliate KSNV, he was homeless and unemployed, living out of his car for at least 30 days (Acosta and Clary).

Investigators traced his activities prior to the violent attack June 18, 2016. Police discovered he practiced firing a gun for the first time at a Las Vegas gun range the day before Trump’s rally. Staff at the shooting range told police investigators Sandford was nervous and had never fired a gun before (Acosta and Clary). While he didn’t tell anyone about his plans before the attack, Sandford told police officers: that if he were on the street tomorrow, he would try this again, according to official police reports. Sandford claimed he had been planning to kill Trump for about a year but decided to act on this occasion because he finally felt confident about trying it. (Acosta and Clary)

Even though he admitted to his plans, “Sandford also told authorities that had he not tried to assassinate Trump at the Las Vegas event;” he planned to assassinate Trump at his following Phoenix rally (Acosta and Clary).

Dislike and Distrust: Much of America Doubtful About Trump.

One of the primary reasons Sandford planned his attack is his deep distrust of the presidential hopeful (Acosta and Clary). HE believed Trump would usher in the worse history America has faced (Acosta and Clary). This is not new or even surprising. Trump’s opinion rating has long been debated. More than 60 percent of Americans polled by PolitiFact reported they didn’t trust Trump (PolitiFact). Only four percent thought he was truthful, and 27 percent said he was mostly false (PolitiFact). The Washington Post predicted in May 2016: He would be the most disliked major-party nominee since at least 1984. Over half the public (53 percent) continues to see Trump in a “strongly unfavorable” light, ticking down from 56 percent last month. (Clement and Guskin)

Nothing New: Trump Rallies Tend to be Violent.

While this is the first reported assassination attempt of the candidate, violence at Trump rallies isn’t new. His predictions are mainly negative, especially regarding foreign policy. His opinions are controversial. Others have accused him of being racists and sexist. Trump’s ideals are a breeding ground for hostility, hate, and harassment. To date, there have been at least 20 reported violent events at Trump’s rallies (Mathis-Lilley). So far, no one has died from the events, but protesters and Trump opponents say that may not last (Mathis-Lilley). 

This is evident from the rally protests, some call riots, at the New Mexico rally May 2016. Trump’s rally, close to Mexican communities and workplaces, focused on preventing illegal immigrants from entering the country (U.S. Election 2016 Staff). This is one of the most violent rallies since Trump began his campaign (U.S. Election 2016 Staff).

Protesters threw burning T-shirts and plastic bottles at police outside the rally at a convention center in Albuquerque. Demonstrators held banners that read ‘Trump is Fascist’ and ‘We've heard enough,’ and some waved a Mexican flag. Police responded by firing pepper spray and smoke grenades at the crowd. (U.S. Election 2016 Staff)

Most of the rioting is attributed to Trump’s proposal to “build a wall” along the Mexican-U.S. border (U.S. Election 2016 Staff). On the other hand, many say Trump cannot be blamed for the violence since the majority or protesters and violent offenders attending the rallies aren’t Trump supporters (U.S. Election 2016 Staff). They claim these individuals are causing trouble at the rallies and Trump cannot control their actions (U.S. Election 2016 Staff).

It’s History: Presidential Hopefuls Face Danger Every Day

Trump’s attack isn’t new among presidential hopefuls. America has a history of violent elections and candidate protests (Keneally). Erica Chenoweth, an international relations professor at the University of Denver, said violent protests are common but were more prevalent during America’s earlier elections (Keneally). In 1896 election, the presidential election was violently protested (Keneally). During Republican William McKinley and Democratic William Jennings Bryan campaigns, the nation was rebuilding after periods of economic crisis (Keneally). Farmers and workers wanted a president that represented their needs.

President McKinley’s election, which was right after the [Long] Depression, there were lots of clashes with populists that supported the farm workers and the farming industry and people that supported more financial sector and trade. (Keneally). While this didn’t represent primary election protests, this is but one how America uses protests, sometimes violent, to reject political ideals and unpopular candidates.

On the other hand, Trump isn’t the first presidential candidate to face the firing squad. Several attempts have been made on previous candidates’ lives. Most Americans remember Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt as the former, progressive president who brought change to America (The History Guy). He left office in 1909 and re-entered politics in the 1912 presidential election (The History Guy). During his speech in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912, an immigrant from Germany, John Schrank, shot the presidential hopeful with a .38 revolver (The History Guy). And no one can forget the assassination attempt on President John F. Kennedy’s brother, Robert Kennedy during the1968 Democratic Presidential Primaries (The History Guy). Other assassination attempts on presidential hopefuls during the primaries include former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace and U.S. Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy (The History Guy).

Works Cited

Acosta, Jim and Greg Clary. “Man who attempted to grab gun at rally wanted ‘to kill Trump.’” CNN. 21 June 2016. Web. 24 June 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/19/politics/trump-rally-gun-police-officer/.

Clement, Scott and Emily Guskin. “The Fix 67 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump.” The Washington Post. 14 April 2016. Web. 24 June 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/14/republicans-like-donald-trump-and-ted-cruz-the-general-public-doesnt/.

The History Guy. “Assassination Attempts on U.S. Presidential Candidates.” HistoryGiy.com. N.d. Web. 24 June 2016. http://www.historyguy.com/assassination_attempts_presidential_candidates.htm#.V22XjbgrKhe.

Keneally, Meghan. “The History of Violence on Presidential Campaign Trails.” ABC News. 14 March 2016. Web. 24 June 2016. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/history-violence-presidential-campaign-trails/story?id=37634969.

Mathis-Lilley, Ben. “A Continually Growing List of Violent Incidents at Trump Events.” The Slatest. 25 April 2016. Web. 24 June 2016. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/02/a_list_of_violent_incidents_at_donald_trump_rallies_and_events.html.

PolitiFact. “Donald Trump's file.” Tampa Bay Times. N.d. Web. 24 June 2016. http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/. 

Seipel, Ernie. “Man Arrested at Rally Wanted to 'Shoot and Kill' Trump, Authorities Say.” 

National Public Radio (NPR). 20 June 2016. Web. 24 June 2016. http://www.npr.org/2016/06/2*0/482859841/man-arrested-at-rally-wanted-to-shoot-and-kill-trump-court-documents-show.

U.S. Election 2016 Staff. US elections: Violent protests at Trump New Mexico rally.” British Broadcasting Company (BBC) News. 30 May 2016. Web. 24 June 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-36376491.

U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs. “Visa Waiver Program.” U.S. Visas. U.S. Department of State. N.d. Web. 24 June 2016. https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visa-waiver-program.html.