The most serious incident took place at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in 2024 while Trump was running for a second term. The attempt resulted in two deaths, that of the would-be assassin and a spectator. Trump was injured by a bullet that struck his right ear, the only injury sustained in these attempts. Another attempt on Trump's life occurred in Florida in September 2024; it was thwarted by the Secret Service, resulting in no casualties and only the suspect being shot at.
2016 incident at Dayton, Ohio rally
On March 12, 2016, 22-year-old Thomas DiMassimo was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct as he broke over the police barricade and attempted to rush the stage during a rally in Dayton, Ohio. He was tackled by the Secret Service.[1] On July 26, 2016, DiMassimo was sentenced to one year probation.[2]
2016 attempted assassination of Donald Trump at Las Vegas rally
On June 18, 2016, Trump was giving a speech at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of his presidential campaign. During the speech, Michael Steven Sandford, a 20-year-old British man, attempted to grab a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer's pistol. The officer quickly subdued Sandford, who was arrested and handed over to the United States Secret Service, where he expressed his desire to murder Trump. Sandford was sentenced to 12 months and one day's imprisonment, along with being fined $200. After becoming eligible for early release, Sandford was released and deported to the United Kingdom in May 2017.
2016 Reno "gun" scare
On November 5, 2016, three days before the presidential election, Trump was speaking at a rally in Reno, Nevada, when a man in the crowd screamed "gun." This caused Trump to be rushed off stage by security, and the man was tackled by surrounding members of the crowd. The man, Austyn Crites, was subdued by Secret Service agents and searched, only to find that he was unarmed. Crites, a Republican who opposed Trump, was holding up a sign shortly before that stated "Republicans against Trump". Crites stated that others attempted to grab the sign and were booing him. After the scene was cleared and identified as safe, Trump returned to the stage minutes later and finished the speech without incident.[3][4]
2017 forklift attack attempt
On September 6, 2017, in Mandan, North Dakota, Gregory Lee Leingang stole a forklift from an oil refinery and attempted to drive it toward the presidential motorcade while Trump was visiting to rally public support. After the forklift became jammed within the refinery, he fled on foot and was arrested by the pursuing police. While interviewed in detention, Leingang admitted his intent to murder the president by flipping the presidential limousine with the stolen forklift, to the surprise of authorities, who had assumed he was stealing the vehicle for personal use. Leingang pleaded guilty to the attempted attack, stealing the forklift, related charges and several other unrelated crimes on the same day. Consequently, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His defense attorney noted a "serious psychiatric crisis".[5][6]
2018 ricin poisoning attempt
On October 1, 2018, an envelope laced with ricin was sent to Trump before being discovered by mailing facilities. Several other letters were sent to the Pentagon, all of them labeled on the front with "Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder". Two days later on October 3, a 39-year-old Utah Navy veteran named William Clyde Allen III was arrested and charged with one count of mailing a threat against the president and five counts of mailing threatening communications to an officer or an employee of the United States. Allen pleaded not guilty to all charges.[7] He was subsequently remanded for psychiatric evaluation and treatment, and the charges against him were dismissed on January 25, 2022.[8]
2020 escort from press briefing
On August 10, 2020, Trump was escorted from a press briefing by a secret service agent after an armed suspect was shot outside the White House fencing.[9]
2020 ricin poisoning attempt
On September 20, 2020, Pascale Cécile Véronique Ferrier was arrested in Buffalo, New York, while attempting to cross over the border to Canada. Ferrier, who is Canadian, wrote in a ricin-laced letter to Trump that he should drop out of the ongoing 2020 presidential election along with calling him an "ugly tyrant clown". She was charged with eight counts each of prohibitions with respect to biological weapons and making threats via interstate commerce and faced up to life in prison.[10][11] On August 17, 2023, a US court sentenced Ferrier to nearly 22 years in prison.[12]
2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania
The rifle used by Crooks in the attempted assassination
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from an AR15-style rifle at Trump while speaking at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.[13] Trump was shot and wounded in his upper right ear before dropping to the ground and being shielded by the Secret Service. Crooks also killed one member of the audience, Corey Comperatore, as well as critically injuring two others, prior to being shot and killed by a member of the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team.[14][15]
The assassination attempt prompted the resignation of the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, as well as several ongoing investigations into the incident as a political assassination attempt as well as an act of domestic terrorism.[16]
2024 assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club
The backpack and rifle allegedly used by Routh in the assassination attempt
On September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh was sighted wielding a rifle in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Donald Trump was golfing at the club. A Secret Service officer shot at Routh, who fled, and was apprehended while driving away. The FBI was investigating it as an assassination attempt.[17]
Authorities later confirmed that Routh did wish to kill the former president.[18] An indictment on April 7, 2025 revealed that Routh was planning the assassination attempt as early as February 2024 with an accomplice who called himself "Ramiro", who lived in Mexico.[19][20] A preliminary trial date was set for September 8, 2025.[21] Routh could face life in prison if convicted.[22]
2024 security incident at Coachella rally
On October 12, 2024, a man was arrested near a checkpoint at a Donald Trump rally in Coachella, California. The man had possessed two firearms and ammunition, multiple passports with different names, and an unregistered vehicle with a fake license plate.[23] On the same day, he was released after posting a $5,000 bail.[24][25]
2025 threats
A 50-year-old woman from Indiana was arrested in the District of Columbia on August 16, 2025 and charged with making violent threats against Trump. An Instagram account attributed to the woman had posted intent to "sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present." The account also referred to Trump as a terrorist and expressed a desire to avenge deaths that occurred due to his administration's COVID-19 policies. During an interview with the Secret Service, she claimed to have a bladed object which she would use to kill Trump. On the day of her arrest, the woman circumnavigated the White House complex as part of a protest.[26][27]
↑ Thomas, Pierre; Barr, Luke; Murphy, Tracie (October 13, 2024). "Man arrested with loaded guns near Trump's Coachella rally, sheriff says". ABC News. Retrieved October 20, 2024. Upon his arrest by local police, the man made no threats aimed at Trump and federal investigators have found no threatening material targeting Trump, sources told ABC News. There are indications on social media that he supports Trump and was at the RNC, according to sources. The individual ... claimed to be a member of the press to pass through the event's outer security perimeter.
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