Before the recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, there have been several instances of political violence targeting U.S. presidents, former presidents, and major party presidential candidates. Since the founding of the nation in 1776, various assassinations and assassination attempts have taken place.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was the first president to be assassinated. He was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington. Lincoln’s support for Black rights has been suggested as a motive for the assassination. Two years prior, Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.
James Garfield, the 20th president, was the second president to be assassinated. Only six months into his presidency, he was shot by Charles Guiteau at a train station in Washington on July 2, 1881. Despite attempts to save him, Garfield succumbed to his wounds three months later.
William McKinley, the 25th president, was shot during a speech in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901. He died eight days later from complications related to the gunshot wounds. McKinley’s assassin, Leon F. Czolgosz, was found guilty and executed in October of the same year.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president, was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963. Kennedy was shot while riding in a motorcade, and Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination. Two days later, Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby while in police custody.
Gerald Ford, the 38th president, survived two assassination attempts in 1975. Both attempts were unsuccessful, with the assailants, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, being apprehended and sentenced.
Ronald Reagan, the 40th president, was shot in March 1981 in Washington, D.C. Reagan recovered, but his press secretary, James Brady, was left partially paralyzed. The shooter, John Hinckley Jr., was confined to a mental hospital upon being found not guilty by reason of insanity.
George W. Bush, the 43rd president, narrowly escaped harm when a hand grenade was thrown at him during a rally in Tbilisi in 2005. The grenade did not explode, and the assailant, Vladimir Arutyunian, was sentenced to life in prison.
Robert F. Kennedy, a presidential candidate and brother of John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968 moments after giving a victory speech in California. Sirhan Sirhan, his assassin, was sentenced to life in prison.
George C. Wallace, a presidential candidate shot in 1972 during a campaign stop, was left paralyzed from the waist down. His shooter, Arthur Bremer, was sentenced to prison and later released in 2007.
