All language subtitles for The Brit who tried to kill Trump

[narrator] In May, 2016 20-year-old
Michael Sandford's parents

reported that he had gone
missing in America.

Twenty-three days later,

he turned up at a Donald Trump
campaign rally in Las Vegas.

[cheering]

I will build a great, great wall.

Shortly after Trump took to the stage,
Michael approached a police officer.

Seconds later, he attempted
to grab the officer's gun.

[indistinct police communication]

Are you serious, man,
what are you thinking?

[crowd booing]

We love our police.

When questioned by the Secret Service,

Michael stated he'd wanted
to shoot and kill Trump,

saying he was a racist
that deserved to die.

But how did a young British man
from Surrey

end up trying to assassinate

the most controversial
and high-profile man in the world?

Donald J. Trump.

[woman] We've always just been
a very, very close family unit.

He thought Donald Trump
was the worst thing for the world.

[woman] This is not a hardened criminal,

this is just a young kid who found himself
in an awful situation.

He tried to assassinate.
He was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

[narrator] Michael is due to be sentenced
and could face decades in prison.

Michael Sandford could have altered
the course of American history.

[narrator] But were these
the actions of a boy

with a history of mental health problems?

He seemed just a totally different
personality from the boy I'd known.

[woman] He's gonna spend
his 21st birthday in prison.

Someone who really shouldn't be there.

[narrator] Or was it
a premeditated attack?

[man] When Michael was shooting,
he was doing this.

Who was he working for?
Maybe he got radicalized.

There's nothing I can tell him
that will make his situation any better.

And I just want my son back.

[man] I'm telling you
that violence is wrong.

I disagree with that.

[phone ringing]

[automated voice]
This call is from an inmate facility.

-Hi, son.
-[Michael] Hey.

So what have you been up to today so far?

Just all to myself.

Yeah. What have you had to eat today?

Uh, just potatoes.

[coughs] So was porridge
not for breakfast today?

I dropped it everywhere.

-Oh, that wasn't very clever, was it?
-No.

-Is that because you were shaking?
-Yeah.

Oh... Have you had any more seizures?

Um, a few, yeah.

Hmm. Oh, dear, sorry to hear that.

[Lynne] It's very hard to know that he's
there and we're so far away from him.

All the calls are recorded and monitored.

It's very impersonal.

Sometimes he begs me not to go
and he rings me back again,

he says, "I just want to keep
hearing your voice, Mum."

[Lynne on phone] Now we're down
to our last minute, aren't we? So...

-I love you very much.
-[Michael] I love you, Mum, I miss you.

[Lynne] You too, son. Anyway, take care.
Look after yourself.

[Michael] You too, take care.
I love you so much.

[Lynne] I hope you manage to get
something else to eat today.

[Michael] Thank you. I love you, Mum.

I love you, too, darling.

And Jessica does and Nan does
and Dad does and Mischief does.

[automated voice] Your time is up.

It cut off, you see.
Fifteen minutes, that's all you get.

I feel weary.

It's just the same everyday.
A phone call,

I ask him what he's done
and the answers are always the same.

What he's had to eat...
You know, it's not a life.

It's barely an existence for him
out there at the moment.

Just knowing that he is where he is

and I'm powerless to do anything about it
is impossibly hard.

[narrator] Michael's currently being held
in a maximum security prison

in Nevada's Death Valley,
while he awaits sentencing.

After admitting trying to kill Trump,

he's entered a plea bargain
in a bid to reduce his sentence.

But still faces the possibility
of a lengthy jail term.

This is one of the most high-profile cases
I've dealt with

and certainly it's a very complex case.

The governor will be arguing
that this was not something

that was a spur-of-the-moment
type of crime.

This was something
that had been calculated.

They're going to be arguing that this was
in fact a very dangerous situation

and it could have resulted
in someone being murdered.

The maximum under the law
is 20 years for Michael,

so he could be looking at
many, many years in prison.

[narrator] Before moving to America,

Michael lived in Surrey with his mum
and half sister Jessica.

[Lynne] I think that one's really cute.

It's probably his first ever smile.

None of us had any idea
what was ahead for us back then.

You know, I sit and I look at these
pictures of him as an angelic little boy.

I just think it's so tragic
that this is where his life is at,

especially someone
who really shouldn't be there.

[Lynne] He was very bright and bubbly
and cute and sweet and adorable.

He was the apple of our eye.

Funny.

[Lynne] You're doing a funny?
Oh, you're doing a happy, smiley face,

[Lynne] But I think we first noticed that
there might be problems when he was two.

He would become quite hysterical

when we would throw quite ordinary things
in the rubbish bin.

That was the first sign that
he had some form of OCD.

This, oddly enough, his key collection.

He enjoyed collecting keys.

When Michael was about eight,
his moods started to change.

They were quite erratic at times,

he seemed to become quite depressive
and angry.

-Hello!
-Hello!

I wondered if... because by then
I'd split up with his father.

I wondered if it was some anger
at the breakup.

But his mood swings and erratic nature
were starting to concern me by then.

It says "Michael Sandford:
My Autobiography, age 13."

It goes through all the usual things,
"My name is Michael Sandford, I'm 13,

I live in Dorking with my mother, budgie
and hamster."

This bit is... pretty sad. Um...

"I'm wondering what the world
is coming to.

They say the world will end when the sun
blows up in five billion years,

but I believe humans will destroy it
long before then."

That was something he was very worried
about, he was very worried about mankind.

I guess that's been mirrored by
what he said about Donald Trump.

He thought Donald Trump
was the worst thing for the world.

[narrator] When Michael was 13,
he was diagnosed with Asperger's,

a condition associated with
difficulties in social interaction.

[Lynne] He was just falling apart.

He was losing his grip on the world,
not knowing how to fit in or cope.

[narrator] At secondary school,
he was bullied.

He deliberately tried to run out
in front of cars sometimes

in the hope he would get knocked over
to avoid going to school.

I very much feel
the system failed Michael.

I took him for help so many times
over so many years

and nobody did anything
until it became almost too late.

[narrator] Aged 14, Michael developed
severe anorexia as a result of his OCD

and had to be sectioned
to a psychiatric hospital.

[Lynne] He had said, you know, life
isn't worth living. I find it too hard.

I was really frightened that
I was going to lose him. I was terrified.

[Lynne] Off you go.

Bye!

-[man] What are you drawing?
-A rainbow.

-[man] Who's that for?
-Michael, because I love him.

He's very nice and good.

And he wasn't very well a long time ago
and he did something wrong.

So that's why he's in there now.

[narrator] Michael's parents separated
when he was five years old,

but he has always remained close
to his dad, Paul.

[Paul] We all know our children
and we all know their personalities.

If you're honest with yourself,

you know whether somebody has
the potential to do something like that,

or not.

He's never shouted,
he's never screamed at me.

That violent aspect of some kids' natures
just wasn't there with Michael.

[narrator] Michael had never shown any
interest in politics, at home or abroad.

But Paul noticed a significant change
when visiting him in prison,

following his arrest.

[Paul] He seemed very politicized,
very radical.

Very logical but very highly motivated
about Mr. Trump

and the effect that he may have
on the American people.

Just a totally different personality
from the boy I'd known.

Um... I've got a little box
with all his memories here.

So all things like the newspaper cuttings
from before.

Obviously newspaper cuttings from now.

[man] Has he not told you why he did it
or what was going through his head?

[Paul] No... I mean it's very difficult
for him to say anything to us.

Everything he says and does is monitored.

He will tell us all about it all,
I hope, when he's back at home,

but at the moment
he's not told us anything, really.

I mean, I think... although
it's quite a morbid thing to do,

when Michael comes out, I'm sure
he's going to be quite interested

in the news coverage from back home.

[man] Why do you think he did it?

The only thing I can possibly think of

is he's been coerced, groomed,
whatever word you'd like to use.

I mean, whether it was a structured group

or whether it was just a few people with
a political agenda to kill Donald Trump,

I don't know.

Asperger's can make you look at things
very black and white.

I think they saw Michael
and saw he was vulnerable.

I think they saw a way to coerce him
into doing what they wanted him to do.

I think whoever he was with has given him
ideas, because he wasn't my Michael.

[narrator] Aged 18, Michael told his
parents he was planning to move to America

to be with a girlfriend he'd met online.

[Lynne] He just wanted to spread his
wings, have a bit of independence,

and attempt to lead a normal life.

He said he had to go
or he would attempt suicide again.

He's 18, he's an adult.

He's a vulnerable adult,
but you can't stop him doing anything.

[narrator] Michael's family
used inheritance money

to pay for a year's rent on a flat
in Hoboken, overlooking New York.

He was the smallest, skinniest
person I'd ever met.

The most polite person that I'd ever met.

Michael never mentioned any girl to me,
or friends or anybody.

As a matter of fact, I think I recall him
saying he knew nobody here.

If Michael moved to Hoboken
for other reasons, I don't know.

It does make you start to wonder.

[Lynne] Initially, we heard from Michael
all the time.

But his behavior became erratic.

Sometimes we'd hear from him,
sometimes we wouldn't.

He turned very nasty at one point.

He said to me, "You've no idea
how much I hate, loathe and despise you."

And that was the final straw for me.

I said to him, "Who is putting
these thoughts in your mind?"

Because he'd always been so loving.

[narrator] On 26 May 2016,
having lost all contact with Michael,

Lynne reported him missing
to the authorities.

[Lynne] I was worried out my mind.

I could only see it ending in a disaster.

[narrator] During this period, police
now believe he'd been living out of a BMW

bought using the money
he'd been given for rent.

Michael didn't surface again
until the day of his arrest.

[newsreader] Our headlines this morning:

Donald Trump is celebrating
his astonishing victory...

[narrator] Five weeks before
Michael is due to be sentenced,

Donald Trump's remarkable rise
to the White House is confirmed.

[newsreader] The Republican businessman
defeated his Democratic rival,

scoring decisive victories...

[newsreader 2] ...confounded the pollsters
and media pundits who predicted...

[newsreader 3] So what will the rest of
the world make of these seismic events

that took place overnight in America?

We're going to get the view from London...

[Lynne] I was up all night
watching the results.

I t's obviously only been announced
in the last hour or so.

There's no getting away from it now.

I mean, he is going to be President
for the next four years

and, like it or lump it,
we've got to get on with it.

[narrator] It's a result
that could have an impact

on the length of Michael's jail term.

We have sentencing coming up next month

and whether Donald Trump will choose
to make an example of Michael

remains to be seen.

-Thank you.
-[crowd chanting "USA"]

Thank you very much, everybody.

He was looking forward to sentencing

and hoping that there might be
a favorable outcome

but I think this result casts
a potentially very big shadow over that.

Now it's time for America to...

I'm very worried that he will either
lose his mind completely

or commit suicide
if he had the opportunity.

It just made everything so much harder
and so much more complicated for Michael.

For those who have chosen
not to support me in the past,

of which there were a few people...

[laughter]

[Lynne] I feel powerless.

You know, I want to be able
to keep him strong and to give him hope,

but a lot of that hope was dashed
last night with the outcome of this.

And it's made the future
so much more uncertain for him.

[newsreader] ...political experience,

and one who's just caused the biggest
political upset in American history.

[narrator] Michael is being kept
in solitary confinement

and gets most of his news from his mum.

[Lynne] Have you heard about
the election results?

[Michael] No, not yet.

[Lynne] You haven't, OK.
Well, Donald Trump did get it in the end.

-So...
-[Michael] Well, I guess I'm happy for him

and it's America's choice
so I guess I have to respect that.

[Lynne] I realize in many ways a bad
situation just got worse for you but...

[Michael] Yeah, I think it did.

[Lynne] But you do understand that
what you attempted to do wasn't right,

-don't you?
-[Michael] Oh, of course, absolutely.

I'd never choose to do that,
I'd never choose to hurt anyone.

[Lynne] I know that, Michael.

[automated voice]
You have one minute remaining.

[Lynne, to camera] Michael
has now reverted back to being

the loving son he always has.

He sent us letters and cards

and drawings that he's done.

And every time he says, "I love you,
I love you, I miss you, I need you."

[man] "Tears are streaming down my face
as I write this.

I miss you all and I love you all
more than words can explain.

I'm so alone, cold and scared here.

I feel awful about the way
I've treated you all.

Mum, I will be the son that you deserve.

I'm so scared, I need you all."

[Paul] When Michael did move out to
America, I redecorated my bedroom.

Just got me thinking about him a bit more
I guess.

[narrator] Paul is flying out
to join Lynne in Las Vegas,

ahead of Michael's sentencing.

[Paul] It's been ten years
probably since I've been abroad.

He needs that support,
and with that support he will be alright.

[narrator] Michael's mental health
has deteriorated

since Trump was confirmed
as the President-Elect

and he's been placed on suicide watch.

[Paul] He's become quite depressed

and now I think he just wants to get
the sentencing over and done with

so at least he'll know
what's happening with him.

We hope it's gonna be OK, we hope
they take in account Michael's conditions

but we have been told
that it's not something

the American system
really tends to look into.

He is flesh and blood.
He is my boy and he's lonely and scared.

I mean, he's got no family out there.
He's got nobody to see him.

He's in a prison where there are lifers
who support Trump.

They've got nothing to lose, really.

I still lie awake at night a lot of
the time expecting that phone call

saying there's been an incident,

something's happened
in the detention center.

To be honest, I'm really worried somebody
is going to try to kill him. I really am.

I've started on sleeping pills
and antidepressants

because there's been a number of nights

where I haven't slept
for two or three nights in a row. And...

Obviously then you start
to get really down and tired.

I've got to do it for Michael. You just
get over it and get it done with.

I'm trying to get my son home.

[narrator] With Michael's sentencing
just days away,

his legal team are putting
the final touches to their case.

We put together... I asked Lynne
to send me a bunch of pictures,

so we need to call the court later on
and make sure that we can play these

while we're arguing for sentencing.

The other problem is the control we have
over what happens to him

when he's in prison is fairy minimal,
but the control we do have

is to limit the amount of time
that he needs to spend there.

[narrator] Michael's plea bargain
means he's pleaded guilty

to impeding and disrupting
government business

and being an illegal alien
in possession of a firearm.

The reality is that you have
Michael admitting

that he tried to assassinate
what is now President-Elect Trump.

[narrator] He could face
up to 20 years in jail,

unless his defense team
are successful in proving

he was suffering from a psychotic episode.

Frankly, I don't think that
that was Michael Sandford.

That's not the Michael that I've come to
know in the last few months.

But that's the Michael that the government
is going to be portraying at sentencing,

I think that Michael has suffered from

a variety of different
mental health conditions

and what he said and what he did
was really not him

but a condition that needs to be treated.

The arguments are ready,
everything has been filed,

so I think right now is just really
a matter of just wait and see.

[narrator] On his arrest, the Secret
Service conducted a thorough investigation

tracking Michael's movements
leading up to his assassination attempt.

In the boot of his car,
detectives found the used target

that led them to a firing range less than
a mile from where the rally took place.

It's gonna be really loud, that's why
we're gonna wear all your protection.

[narrator] Michael attended the shooting
range the day before the rally.

He would later tell detectives

that he'd considered buying a rifle
to shoot Trump from long distance,

but claimed he was unable to acquire one.

[Josh] This is the Glock 17
that Michael shot.

We're gonna load it into the magazine,
and then we're just gonna...

slide goes forward, ready to go.

[narrator] Josh was the range safety
officer that attended to Michael.

[Josh] Honestly, there was nothing
off of him when he came in.

He shot 20 rounds.

He was shy, he was nervous,
just like any other customer.

But I would have never thought that he was
practicing for an assassination.

Glock 17s are standard issue for
law enforcement here in this country.

An experienced shooter,
they don't anticipate the rounds,

you don't shoot down, you're pretty much
just keeping that gun forward,

which will look something like this.

You're forward...

[gunshot]

When Michael was shooting,
I'll see if I can get it right...

I'm gonna miss on purpose.
He was doing this.

He was shooting the ground.

He was not a good shot, just like any
other shooter who has never shot

and has adrenaline kicking in,
is really nervous.

They usually shoot really low because
you're flinching, you're so nervous.

He was an ordinary customer.
He seemed like a good kid actually.

You know, he... Like, he had innocence,
like he couldn't hurt a fly or anything.

He seemed like a really nice guy,
you know.

[narrator] After a ten-hour flight,

Paul has arrived in Las Vegas
for Michael's sentencing.

He is meeting Lynne and the rest of
Michael's family at the airport.

Quite nervous about everything now.

I can feel myself
getting more and more nervous

and I'm sure Lynne is gonna be the same.

The nerves will start when she gets in

and then I think, as the day progresses,
thinking about tomorrow.

It's gonna be hard for both of us and
I think Lynne is gonna start struggling.

[man] What's your relationship
like with Lynne?

[Paul] Lynne and I get along really well.
We always have done.

Hi, Jessie! Hello!

Even when we split up,
we got on quite well.

That's one of the things
with the issues you get with Michael,

it does bring you together,
you haven't got the choice.

-Hiya, Paul. Alright?
-Hiya.

You've got to be there for Michael,
you've got to work together for Michael.

The car's out this way.
It's Level 1, the car park at the back.

Right...

[Lynne]
There we go. One big family, Jessica, eh?

[Lynne] This is where it all happened,
Treasure Island.

[Paul] So how've you been then? Alright?

[Lynne] Yeah, it's been hard, you know.
Really, really tiring and stressful.

-Are you sleeping any better?
-No. Nor eating better.

[Paul] At least we'll have
some sort of closure for tomorrow.

It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?

I know it's being weighing hard
on Michael.

Just the waiting and not knowing.

[Lynne] Jessica, do you remember where
I said that we're gonna go tomorrow?

Court.

[Lynne] That's right, yeah. Who's going to
be at the court and why are we there?

Michael! We have to find out
how long he has to stay there again.

[Lynne] That's right, yeah.
So there's gonna be a special person.

-The judge.
-[Lynne] The judge, that's right.

And he is gonna listen to lots of things
about Michael

and decide how much longer Michael
has to stay here, isn't he?

I'm a bit nervous of the judge
because I'm never seen him before.

[Lynne] No. Do you think you can
be on your best behavior?

Yes!

And of course Michael would like to see
how well you can behave as well.

What would you like to say to Michael
if you get the chance?

-I love you.
-[Lynne] Aww.

-You alright?
-[Lynne] Yeah.

[Lynne, on phone] Hi, son, how are you?

[Michael] Alright, I just spoke to Brenda.

[Lynne] OK, did you?
What did she have to say?

[Michael] Just that I will be allowed
to make a statement in court.

[Lynne] Yeah, well, at least
you get to have your say, anyway.

-Are you gonna read it to me?
-[Michael] You want me to read it to you?

[Lynne] Yes, please.

[Michael] I would like
to take this opportunity

to apologize to everyone involved.

I feel terrible and awful about what I did
and I am extremely ashamed of myself.

I am not a violent person
and I do not wish to harm or hurt anyone.

When we get in, it's bed for you, Jessica.

[Michael] I deserve to be in prison
for the rest of my life.

However, I would like to ask for mercy

as my bad mental health was the reason
for me committing this crime.

I would like to be able to go home,

so I can be with my family
and get the treatment I need.

[Lynne] Mm-hmm. I don't think you should
say that you deserve to be in prison

for the rest of your life.
Because that's not true.

[Michael] I did try to kill a guy,
though, Mum.

[Lynne] No, I know but you didn't mean
to and you didn't intend to, did you?

[Michael] Alright, I'll take it out.

[Lynne] If the judge is swayed,
which he shouldn't be,

by the fact that Donald Trump
is now the President-Elect,

then obviously he can, you know,
give whatever sentence he chooses.

But I just hope that he will see Michael
for who he is,

the troubled young man
that just made a massive error,

and give him the second chance
that he needs and deserves.

And give him, hopefully,
the lower sentence.

[man] And do you think that will happen?

Fifty/fifty.

[man] Really, those are the chances
you think?

Yeah, mm-hmm.

[man] Have you prepared yourself
for the worst?

Um, I think I have, but...

you know, just hearing it
is an entirely different ball game.

You can prepare yourself for these things.

But until you're actually faced with them,
nobody knows how you're going to react.

And I've tried to prepare Michael,
but it's the same thing again.

You know, he's been just finding a way
through to cope with each day

and that is thinking that the judge
will let him off with time served

and how he's gonna cope with the
realization perhaps that's not the case

is just gonna be tremendously difficult.

[narrator] Just before midnight, nine
hours before the rally was due to start,

Michael made his way
to the Treasure Island casino

and took fourth place in the queue.

Gregg Donavan, a staunch Trump supporter,
was next in line.

I asked this young man, I said, "Would you
mind holding my space while I go change?"

He said, "Oh, yeah," and I heard
the British accent, I remember.

I was in my full red thing
and black top hat

and when he saw it,
he seemed kind of repulsed.

I found that odd because I thought
he would like it, you know.

He just didn't seem like
a regular Trump supporter.

It didn't seem like that,
that was my feeling.

[video plays on phone]

I was in fifth row,
I got very close to Mr. Trump,

I'm so close to him, look at that.

There's something about the rallies,
it's just euphoria.

Ladies and gentlemen, the next president
of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

[cheering]

[narrator] As the auditorium
began to fill up,

Cole Bartiromo, another Trump fan,
took his place in the crowd.

[Cole] The crowds are just so high energy,
feeding off his energy.

So passionate, start chanting things
over and over again.

Thank you very much. I love you people.

I love Las Vegas! I love this state!

[narrator] Thirty seconds into Trump's
speech, with all eyes on the stage,

Michael approached
a metropolitan patrol officer.

[Trump] ...borders generally
that are strong and powerful.

We're gonna get rid of Common Core
and we're gonna bring our education local.

[cheering]

When we get 37 states...

Oh, we love our police.

Thank you. Thank you, officers.

[officer] Are you serious, man,
what are you thinking?

I started filming when I saw guards
tackling somebody.

[booing]

[Cole] They were just dragging him
out of there like he's a rag doll.

[Trump] Thank you. Thank you, officers.

I was like whoa, what did he do?

[Cole] There is this anger...

-[booing]
-[Cole] Boo! Protestors, boo!

[Cole] ...because Michael Sandford

could have altered
the course of American history.

Thank you.

[Gregg] He didn't look like a murderer.

He was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Maybe he got radicalized.

[Gregg] Somebody can come in here

and they have the opportunity to kill
our future president of the United States.

[Trump] That's very nice, thank you.

I think you have to send a strong message,
Donald Trump style.

[Cole] The judge has to give him
the maximum.

[narrator] On his arrest,
Michael told detectives

that the greater good
would be to lose his own life

rather than have Trump as President.

[officer] What makes you special?

[narrator] He stated that it wasn't a cry
for help, only the right thing to do.

-[officer] You know what you did, right?
-[Michael] Well, yeah.

[officer] Wanna make sure. You do, right?

Yeah.

[narrator] It's the morning
of Michael's sentencing.

The family are on their way to meet
the legal team for a final briefing.

[Brenda] Good morning! How are you?
Good to see you!

-Remind me of the name again?
-Timmy.

-Timmy! And the other one is?
-Tickles.

Tickles, yes!

-How are you, Brenda?
-I'm good. Hi, Lynne, good to see you.

-Hi.
-It's good to see you.

[Brenda] When you see Michael
coming into the courtroom,

I don't want you to be surprised,
he's going to be shackled, right.

So he's going to have handcuffs
and some leg cuffs as well.

The leg cuffs are going to remain on him.

He'll be wearing a detainee garb,
a jumpsuit of sorts,

So I just don't want you
to be shocked by that.

So that's how you're going to see Michael.

[Ryan] Judges do this differently
but they'll often hear from both sides.

Sometimes they'll ask questions.

So the judge will often ask
the defendant to speak, Michael.

So we would plan on having him
talk to the judge.

At the conclusion of this hearing
we will know,

the judge will actually announce
what Michael's sentence is

and he'll give the reasoning as to why he
decided to impose a particular sentencing.

So we're hoping for the best,

but of course we don't know
what's going to happen.

He can ultimately impose the sentence
that he believes is fair and just.

[narrator] Unless the Republican judge
is sympathetic

to Michael's mental health disorders,
he faces a lengthy jail term.

Michael Sandford is in there now,
dressed in an orange jumpsuit.

He is tethered at the ankles.

[journalist] His family say that
he is someone who's had

a lifetime of mental health issues

and therefore they're asking the court
to show some leniency.

That is now in the hands of the judge
and we're expecting that verdict

sometime in the next hour.

[Lynne] What's done is done.
We can't change what happened.

But my worries are that
we won't get him back.

[Paul] Which way are we going?

[Lynne] I think it's just around here,
Jessica.

Have you been able to talk with him?

[Lynne] He needs to get psychiatric care.

He needs to be back in the UK.

I don't for one minute think Michael
would be in the position he's in now

if he had got the intervention
he needed soon enough.

[officer] Where's all the hate come from?

[Lynne] I asked for help so many times,
but I didn't get it.

[Michael] It's not just an opinion,
he is racist.

[officer] I understand that.
You think what you're doing is right?

-[Michael] It's justified.
-[officer] It's not.

If you want to kill somebody,
it makes you wrong.

[Michael] I don't want to hurt
any innocent people...

-[continues indistinctly]
-[officer] That makes you wrong.

This is America, land of the free, right?

Everybody should be entitled
to what they want to say and do, right?

-Well, I mean--
-No, everyone is entitled.

This is America. That's the rule.

Everyone's entitled to say
what they want to say. Freedom of speech.

-That doesn't mean it's right--
-You know what

they need to change the constitution.

How would you... [indistinct]

I'm not here to debate.
I'm telling you that violence is wrong.

I disagree with that.

[Lynne] There is life for him the other
side of this, whenever that may be

I know that although he attempted to do
a bad thing, he's not a bad person.

And I know we have to get him back.

[chatter]

[man] Can I ask you one thing?

Tell us about the sentencing.

[Ryan] The judge recognized
that the unique circumstances

justified a sentence
below the usual sentencing guidelines.

The important thing is
he wants to go home.

He wants to go home as soon as he can.

The light is at the end of the tunnel
here, so he's happy about that.

[narrator] The prosecution argued
that Michael, by his own admission,

had planned to carry out the attack
for over a year.

But the judge was sympathetic
to his mental health

and handed down a shorter than expected
sentence of 12 months and a day.

[Lynne] Was it good to see Michael?

He was so frightened in court, you know.

He was shaking really badly, um,
he was choked when he spoke to the judge,

he was breaking down.

And I just feel like a weight
has been lifted off my shoulders,

all the uncertainty and worry
of the last few months,

and now to know that it's such
a relatively short time still to go

before we get him back is just...
I'm just bubbling with joy inside.

[Paul] I'm quite glad to see you smile.

I haven't had a lot to smile about
for quite a long time.

[Paul] He apologized to the judge
for what he had done

and for wasting people's time.

The judge turned around and said
you've got nothing to be sorry for.

I'm sorry.

Um...

He said you've got a condition.

If it had been a heart condition,
he would take medication for it

and nobody would think anything about it.

[Lynne] Wave!

He said it's nothing to be ashamed of.

[Lynne] The judge realized what
everybody else has always said about him.

[Michael] I'm just so ashamed
at what I did

and I just feel awful about it,
I really do.

It could have been far worse,

so I guess I just have to be grateful
that it is how it is and no one got hurt.

I just hope to be able to get treatment
for the mental health issues I have

and just continue
with regular, normal life.