List of assassinated American politicians

Assassinations carried out against American politicians have occurred as early as the 19th century, the earliest of which having believed to have been carried out against David Ramsay in 1815. Since then, several American politicians have been assassinated while being elected or appointed to office, or were candidates for public office. Out of these, four were president of the United States, the earliest of which being Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and the most recent being John F. Kennedy in 1963. ^[1]

List

There are 58 assassinated American politicians listed. The most common method of homicide was with one or more gunshots.

Politician	Portrait	Party	Year	Office	State	Site	Method	Assassin	Suspected motive	Ref
Charles Bent		Nonpartisan	1847	Governor	New Mexico Territory	Taos, New Mexico (at home)	arrows and scalping	Tomás Romero; Pablo Montoya	Targeted during Taos Revolt, a popular uprising against newly asserted US authority over the region after the Mexican–American War.
Tommy Burks		Democratic	1998	State Senator	Tennessee	Cumberland County, Tennessee (at home)	gunshot	Byron Looper (the incumbent Putnam County Assessor)	Killed by political opponent in 1998 State Senate race	[2]
Charles Caldwell		Republican	1875	State Senator and Militia Leader (Clinton Riot)	Mississippi	Clinton, Mississippi	gunshot		Assassinated by a white mob in Clinton, Mississippi	[3]
Louis Cardis		Democratic	1877	State Representative	Texas	El Paso, Texas	gunshot	Charles Howard	Killed as part of the San Elizario Salt War, a dispute over salt mining claims between white and Hispanic settlers	[4]
Anton Cermak		Democratic	1933	Mayor of Chicago	Illinois	Miami, Florida (in motorcade)	gunshot to lung	Giuseppe Zangara	Disputed; suspected of striking Cermak instead of intended target President-elect Franklin Roosevelt	[5]
José Francisco Chaves		Republican	1904	Superintendent of Public Instruction (former congressman and territory politician)	New Mexico territory	Pinoswells, New Mexico	gunshots (through the window of his home)	unknown assailant	Unknown	[6]
John M. Clayton		Republican	1889	US Representative-elect	Arkansas	Plumerville, Arkansas	gunshots (through the window of his home)	unknown assailant	Unknown, but killed in the context of a disputed election	[7]
Linda Collins		Republican	2019	State Senator	Arkansas	Pocahontas, Arkansas (outside her home)	stabbed	Rebecca Lynn O’Donnell	Killed during an argument over money theft.	[8]
Richard J. Daronco			1988	Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York	New York	Pelham, New York (at home)	gunshot	Charles Koster	Assailant was the father of a plaintiff whose harassment suit was dismissed by Daronco.	[9]
James E. Davis		Democratic	2003	Councilman, New York City	New York	New York City (at City Hall)	gunshots	Othniel Askew	Killed by prospective challenger for 2003 Council special election	[10]
Henry Denhardt		Democratic	1937	Lieutenant Governor (former)	Kentucky	Shelbyville, Kentucky (outside the Armstrong Hotel)	gunshots	E.S. Garr; Roy Garr	Killed by brothers of his late fiancée whom he was charged with murdering	[11]
Louis F. Edwards		Democratic	1939	Mayor, Long Beach	New York	Long Beach, New York (outside his home)	gunshot	Alvin Dooley	Edwards' political influence thwarted Dooley's re-election to post in a police union.	[12]
John Milton Elliott		Democratic	1879	Judge, Court of Appeals	Kentucky	Frankfort, Kentucky (after conversation on a public street)	gunshots	Thomas Buford (Henry County District Judge)	Assailant was brother of a plaintiff who lost a farm after Elliott dismissed motion for stay of foreclosure	[13]
James A. Garfield		Republican	1881 (details)	President of the United States		Washington, D.C. (at railway station)	gunshot to spine (died three months later)	Charles J. Guiteau	Targeted after assailant was rejected by Republican officials for a patronage appointment	[14]
William Goebel		Democratic	1900	Governor	Kentucky	Frankfort, Kentucky (outside Old State Capitol)	gunshot to the chest	Unknown political opponents	Uncertain, but killed in the context of the disputed, fraudulent 1899 Kentucky gubernatorial election.	[15]
Bill Gwatney		Democratic	2008	Chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas	Arkansas	Little Rock, Arkansas (at his office at party headquarters)	gunshots	Tim Johnson	Unknown; multiple theories proposed.	[16]
Carter Harrison, Sr.		Democratic	1893	Mayor of Chicago	Illinois	Chicago, Illinois (at home)	gunshot	Patrick Eugene Prendergast	Assailant was rejected for appointment to a patronage post as corporation counsel.	[17]
Thomas Haughey		Republican	1869	US Representative	Alabama	Courtland, Alabama (at a political rally)	gunshot	Collins (first name unknown)	Assailant was a supporter of the target's rival for the Republican nomination for the Congressional race; both men exchanged verbal insults and engaged in fisticuffs before a weapon was brandished	[18]
Thomas C. Hindman		Democratic	1868	US Representative (former)	Arkansas	Helena, Arkansas (at home)	gunshots through window	Unknown assailants	Unknown; multiple theories proposed.	[19]
James M. Hinds		Republican	1868	US Representative	Arkansas	Monroe County, Arkansas (on horseback)	gunshot	George Clark	Killed by a Ku Klux Klan member as intimidation of Republican carpetbaggers	[20]
Edward Dexter Holbrook		Democratic	1870	Delegate to the US House of Representatives (former)	Idaho Territory	Idaho City, Idaho (outside the County Courthouse)	gunshot	Charles Douglas	Killed by the brother-in-law of James Crutcher, as a result of a dispute between Holbrook and Crutcher for control of the Boise County Democratic Party	[21]
Elisha G. Johnson		Republican	1875	State senator	Florida	Near Lake City, Florida or Fernandina, Florida	gunshot	Unknown	Break 12–12 tie in Florida Senate.
Hale Johnson		Prohibition	1902	Mayor of Newton, Illinois, Presidential candidate	Illinois	Bogota, Illinois	gunshot	Harry Harris	Killed while attempting to collect a debt owed to him by Harris	[22]
Leon Jordan		Democratic	1970	State Representative	Missouri	Kansas City, Missouri (outside a restaurant)	gunshots	Unknown	Unknown, alleged to have been an organized crime contract killing	[23]
John F. Kennedy		Democratic	1963 (details)	President of the United States		Dallas, Texas (in motorcade)	gunshots from sniper	Lee Harvey Oswald	Disputed	[24]
Robert F. Kennedy		Democratic	1968 (details)	US Senator and a leading 1968 Democratic presidential candidate	New York	Los Angeles, California (at the Ambassador Hotel)	gunshot	Sirhan Sirhan	Targeted as supporter of Israel in the Arab–Israeli conflict.	[25]
Ed King			1986	Mayor of Mount Pleasant	Iowa	Mount Pleasant, Iowa	gunshot	Ralph Davis	Upset by sewage backup on his property.	[26]
George LeBreton			1844 (details)	Secretary of State	Oregon	Oregon City, Oregon (in his office)	gunshots	Cockstock	Killed by a native as part of Native American resistance to white settlement in the area	[27]
Abraham Lincoln		Republican	1865 (details)	President of the United States		Washington, DC. (Ford's Theatre)	gunshot	John Wilkes Booth , a renowned stage actor	Assailant was a Confederate sympathizer who believed the war was still ongoing	[28]
Russell G. Lloyd, Sr.		Republican	1980	Mayor of Evansville (former)	Indiana	Evansville, Indiana	gunshot	Julia van Orden	Assailant was mentally ill and believed she was being harassed by the city; she believed Lloyd was incumbent mayor	[29]
Huey Long		Democratic	1935 (details)	US Senator and a potential 1936 U.S. presidential candidate	Louisiana	Baton Rouge, Louisiana (inside the State Capitol)	gunshots	Carl Weiss	Uncertain, but Weiss was affiliated with a political family that opposed Long's machine	[30]
Allard K. Lowenstein		Democratic	1980	US Representative	New York	New York City (in his office)	gunshots	Dennis Sweeney	Assailant had a history of mental illness and believed that Lowenstein had been plotting against him since their acquaintance at Stanford University	[31]
Edwin Stanton McCook		Republican	1873	Governor	Dakota Territory	Yankton, Dakota Territory (at a saloon used for a public meeting)	gunshot	Peter Wintermute	Assailant had lost a fistfight with McCook over financing the Dakota Southern Railroad; he returned with a pistol, publicly humiliated by his loss	[32]
William McKinley		Republican	1901 (details)	President of the United States		Buffalo, New York (at Pan-American Exposition)	gunshot	Leon Czolgosz	Assailant was aligned with anarchist movement and killed President as symbol of American inequality	[33]
Mike McLelland		Republican	2013	District Attorney for Kaufman County	Texas	Forney, Texas (at home)	gunshot	Eric Williams	Killed by former justice of the peace who was convicted of burglary while in office	[34]
Harvey Milk		Democratic	1978 (details)	City Supervisor (Councilman) San Francisco	California	San Francisco, California (in his City Hall office)	gunshots	Dan White, outgoing San Francisco City Supervisor	Assailant had recently resigned from office due to financial setbacks; he changed his mind and sought reappointment; Moscone denied this request upon the advice of Milk	[35]
George Moscone		Democratic	1978 (details)	Mayor of San Francisco	California	San Francisco, California (in his City Hall office)	gunshots			[35]
Albert Patterson		Democratic	1954	Attorney General-elect	Alabama	Phenix City, Alabama (walking to his vehicle)	gunshots	Unknown	Target was elected on promise to crack down on organized crime in the state, which was rooted in Phenix City	[36]
Clementa C. Pinckney		Democratic	2015 (details)	State Senator	South Carolina	Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina	gunshot	Dylann Roof	White supremacy	[37] [38] [39]
John M. Pinckney		Democratic	1905	US Representative	Texas	Hempstead, Texas	gunshots	Unknown	Killed during riot instigated by opponents of alcohol prohibition	[40]
David Ramsay			1815	State Senator and former Continental Representative	South Carolina	Charleston, South Carolina	gunshots	William Linnen	Assailant retaliated after target had deemed him insane during criminal court inquiry	[41]
George Lincoln Rockwell		American Nazi	1967	Gubernatorial candidate	Virginia	Arlington, Virginia	gunshots	John Patler	Assailant was angered by Rockwell expelling him from the American Nazi Party	[42]
John Roll		Republican	2011 (details)	Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Arizona	Arizona	Casas Adobes, Arizona	gunshots	Jared Lee Loughner	Caught in crossfire as mentally ill assailant targeted Congresswoman Gabby Giffords	[43]
Tomás Romero (Mexican)			1848	Mayor of Taos Pueblo	New Mexico provisional government	Taos, New Mexico (while imprisoned)	gunshots	John Fitzgerald	Killed following capture for inciting Taos Revolt; assailant retaliating for his brother's death in this uprising	[44]
Leo Ryan		Democratic	1978 (details)	US Representative	California	Port Kaituma, Guyana (on airport tarmac)	gunshots	Unknown members of the People's Temple	Ambushed while investigating allegations of human rights abuses at the Jonestown compound	[45]
John P. Slough		Democratic	1867	Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court	New Mexico Territory	Santa Fe, New Mexico (at his office)	gunshot	William Ryerson (an incumbent Territorial Legislator)	Killed after a public dispute in which each accused the other of corruption	[46]
Solomon P. Sharp		Democratic-Republican	1825 (details)	Attorney General, State Senator-elect	Kentucky	Home in Frankfort, Kentucky	stabbed (at home)	Jereboam O. Beauchamp	Killed over long-standing dispute based on political differences, and on Sharp fathering a child with the woman whom Beauchamp later married	[47]
Joseph Smith		Reform	1844 (details)	Mayor of Nauvoo, presidential candidate	Illinois	Carthage, Illinois (while in jail)	gunshots	The Carthage Greys	Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) targeted by an anti-Mormon mob for his growing political power	[48] [49]
J. Christopher Stevens		Democratic	2012 (details)	Ambassador to Libya		Benghazi, Libya	arson	members of Ansar al-Sharia and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb	Unknown	[50] [51]
John W. Stephens		Republican	1870	State Senator	North Carolina	Yanceyville, North Carolina (in the County Courthouse)	gunshots	Unknown, mobbed by estimated 8 to 12 men	Killed by Ku Klux Klan member as part of intimidation of Republicans	[52]
Frank Steunenberg		Democratic	1905	Governor (former)	Idaho	Caldwell, Idaho (outside his home)	bomb (set at his front gate)	Harry Orchard; possibly others	Killed by a mine owners' association informant in an attempt to cast blame on the Western Federation of Miners	[53]
James Strang		Democratic	1856	State Representative	Michigan	Beaver Island, Michigan (at a steamship terminal)	gunshot	Thomas Bedford	Killed by a disgruntled former member of a Mormon sect led by Strang	[54]
Mike Swoboda			2008 (details)	Mayor of Kirkwood	Missouri	Kirkwood, Missouri (during a city council meeting)	gunshot (died seven months later) [55]	Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton	Assailant retaliated for fines levied by municipality for code violations	[56]
W. H. H. Tison		Democratic	1882	Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives	Mississippi	Baldwyn, Mississippi (while walking)	gunshots	J. Edward Sanders	Killed in retaliation for an alleged assault by his brother S. H. Tison	[57]
Robert Smith Vance		Democratic	1989	Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit		Mountain Brook, Alabama (at home)	mail bomb	Walter Moody	Killed after court refused to expunge a previous conviction for explosives possession from assailant's record	[58]
Samuel Newitt Wood		Republican	1891	State Senator and territorial legislator	Kansas	Hugoton, Kansas (outside County Courthouse)	gunshots	James Brennan	Killed during armed conflict between the two largest towns of Stevens County, Kansas fighting for county seat	[59]
John H. Wood, Jr.			1979	Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas		San Antonio, Texas (outside his home)	gunshot	Charles Harrelson	Contract killing ordered by Jamiel Chagra due to target's harsh convictions of Latin American drug kingpins	[60]
Major Ridge		Cherokee nation	1839	Leader of the Cherokee nation		White Rock Creek	gunshots	Bird Doublehead	Killed as retaliation for alleged responsibility in the deaths of 4,000 Cherokee on the trail of tears
Larry Kuriyama			1970	State senator	Hawaii	Honolulu	gunshot	Unknown	Organized crime	[61]

See also

• Biography portal
• Law portal
• Politics portal
• United States portal

• List of assassinated people
• List of assassinated US presidents
• List of United States Congress members killed or wounded in office
• List of United States federal judges killed in office
• Political murder

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