Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Four US Presidents Assassinated; Others and Candidates Targeted
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 days ago on
July 13, 2024

President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade approximately one minute before he was shot, Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. Riding with President Kennedy are first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, right, Nellie Connally, second from left, and her husband, Texas Gov. John Connally, far left. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — Before Saturday’s apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there have been multiple instances of political violence targeting U.S. presidents, former presidents and major party presidential candidates.

A look at some of the assassinations and attempted assassinations that have occurred since the nation’s founding in 1776:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the 16th President

Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated, shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, as he and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, attended a special performance of the comedy “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.

Lincoln was taken to a house across the street from the theater for medical treatment after he was shot in the back of the head. He died the next morning. His support for Black rights has been cited as a motive behind his killing.

Two years before the assassination, during the Civil War, which was fought over slavery, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation granting freedom to slaves within the Confederacy.

Lincoln was succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson.

Booth was shot and killed on April 26, 1865, after he was found hiding in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia.

JAMES GARFIELD, the 20th President

Garfield was the second president to be assassinated, six months after taking office. He was walking through a train station in Washington on July 2, 1881, to catch a train to New England when he was shot by Charles Guiteau.

Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone inventor, tried unsuccessfully to find the bullet lodged in Garfield’s chest using a device he designed specifically for the president. The mortally wounded president lay at the White House for several weeks but died in September after he was taken to the New Jersey shore. He had held office for six months.

Garfield was succeeded by Vice President Chester Arthur.

Guiteau was found guilty and executed in June 1882.

WILLIAM McKINLEY, the 25th President

McKinley was shot after giving a speech in Buffalo, New York, on Sept. 6, 1901. He was shaking hands with people passing through a receiving line when a man fired two shots into his chest at point-blank range. Doctors had expected McKinley to recover but gangrene then set in around the bullet wounds.

McKinley died on Sept. 14, 1901, six months after opening his second term.

He was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.

Leon F. Czolgosz, an unemployed, 28-year-old Detroit resident, admitted to the shooting. Czolgosz was found guilty at trial and put to death in the electric chair on Oct. 29, 1901.

JOHN F. KENNEDY, the 35th President

Kennedy was fatally shot by a hidden assassin armed with a high-powered rifle as he visited Dallas in November 1963 with first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Shots rang out as the president’s motorcade rolled through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.

Kennedy was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he died soon after.

He was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who was sworn into office in a conference room aboard Air Force One. He is the only president to take the oath of office on an airplane.

Hours after the assassination, police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald after finding a sniper’s perch in a nearby building, the Texas School Book Depository.

Two days later, Oswald was being taken from police headquarters to the county jail when Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby rushed forward and fatally shot Oswald.

GERALD FORD, the 38th President

Ford faced two assassination attempts within weeks in 1975 and was not hurt in either incident.

In the first attempt, Ford was on his way to a meeting with California’s governor in Sacramento when Charles Manson disciple Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme pushed through a crowd on the street, drew a semi-automatic pistol and pointed it at Ford. The gun wasn’t fired.

Fromme was sentenced to prison and released in 2009.

It was 17 days later when another woman, Sara Jane Moore, confronted Ford outside a hotel in San Francisco. Moore fired one shot and missed. A bystander grabbed her arm as a second shot was attempted.

Moore was sent to prison and released in 2007.

RONALD REAGAN, the 40th President

Reagan was leaving a speech in Washington, D.C., and walking to his motorcade when he was shot by John Hinckley Jr., who was in the crowd.

Reagan recovered from the March 1981 shooting. Three other people were shot, including his press secretary, James Brady, who was partially paralyzed as a result.

Hinckley was arrested and confined to a mental hospital after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. In 2022, Hinckley was freed from court oversight after a judge determined he was “no longer a danger to himself or others.”

GEORGE W. BUSH, the 43rd President

Bush was attending a rally in Tbilisi in 2005 with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili when a hand grenade was thrown toward him.

Both men were behind a bulletproof barrier when the grenade, wrapped in cloth, landed about 100 feet away. The grenade did not explode, and no one was hurt.

Vladimir Arutyunian was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, Presidential Candidate

Kennedy was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination when he was killed at a Los Angeles hotel — moments after giving his victory speech for winning the 1968 California primary.

Kennedy was a U.S. senator from New York and the brother of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated five years earlier.

Five other people were wounded in the shooting.

Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. That was commuted to life in prison, where Sirhan remains after his latest petition for release was denied last year.

GEORGE C. WALLACE, Presidential Candidate

Wallace was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination when he was shot during a campaign stop in Maryland in 1972, an incident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Wallace, the governor of Alabama, was known for his segregationist views, which he later renounced.

Arthur Bremer was convicted in the shooting and sentenced to prison. He was released in 2007.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Man Dies After Rescuing His 2 Children in Mississippi River

DON'T MISS

Is Inflation Finally Corralled? Powell Says Federal Reserve Believes It’s Close

DON'T MISS

New Village Green Park Opens in Loma Vista as Clovis Community Hub

DON'T MISS

Gomez Guilty of Murdering Los Hooligans Bass Player

DON'T MISS

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

DON'T MISS

Dealing Blow to Biden’s Reelection Bid, Teamsters Union May Withhold Endorsement

DON'T MISS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Appears to Confirm Delay in Aug. 8 Robotaxi Unveil Event to Make Design Change

DON'T MISS

Smittcamp Asks Court to Drop His Lawsuit Against Controversial NW Fresno Project

DON'T MISS

Measure P Arts Grants Spark Debate and a Meeting Tonight

DON'T MISS

Tedford Exits Fresno State Football. Tim Skipper Is the Next Bulldog Up.

UP NEXT

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

UP NEXT

Trump Receives Enough Delegate Votes to Officially be Republicans’ Nominee

UP NEXT

What to Know About the Attempt on Trump’s Life and Its Aftermath

UP NEXT

GOP Convention Protests on Despite Shooting at Trump Rally

UP NEXT

What We Know About the Trump Rally Shooting Victims So Far

UP NEXT

Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case Over Prosecutor Appointment Concerns

UP NEXT

In Primetime Address, Biden Says Country Must Not Go Down Road of Political Violence

UP NEXT

Secret Service Under Scrutiny After Assassination Attempt on Trump

UP NEXT

Former Fire Chief Who Died at Trump Rally Used His Body to Shield Family From Gunfire

UP NEXT

Biden Appeals For “Unity” After Attempted Trump Assassination, Orders Security Review

Gomez Guilty of Murdering Los Hooligans Bass Player

3 hours ago

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

3 hours ago

Dealing Blow to Biden’s Reelection Bid, Teamsters Union May Withhold Endorsement

4 hours ago

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Appears to Confirm Delay in Aug. 8 Robotaxi Unveil Event to Make Design Change

5 hours ago

Smittcamp Asks Court to Drop His Lawsuit Against Controversial NW Fresno Project

6 hours ago

Measure P Arts Grants Spark Debate and a Meeting Tonight

7 hours ago

Tedford Exits Fresno State Football. Tim Skipper Is the Next Bulldog Up.

7 hours ago

Biden Orders Secret Service to Protect RFK Jr. After Attempt on Trump’s Life

7 hours ago

Trump Receives Enough Delegate Votes to Officially be Republicans’ Nominee

8 hours ago

Who is JD Vance? Things to Know About Donald Trump’s Pick for Vice President

8 hours ago

Man Dies After Rescuing His 2 Children in Mississippi River

A Minnesota man who disappeared Friday while rescuing his two young children from the rain-swollen Mississippi River was found dead by autho...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

Man Dies After Rescuing His 2 Children in Mississippi River

2 hours ago

Is Inflation Finally Corralled? Powell Says Federal Reserve Believes It’s Close

3 hours ago

New Village Green Park Opens in Loma Vista as Clovis Community Hub

3 hours ago

Gomez Guilty of Murdering Los Hooligans Bass Player

3 hours ago

Biden Says It Was a Mistake to Say He Wanted to Put Trump in a ‘Bull’s-Eye’

4 hours ago

Dealing Blow to Biden’s Reelection Bid, Teamsters Union May Withhold Endorsement

5 hours ago

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Appears to Confirm Delay in Aug. 8 Robotaxi Unveil Event to Make Design Change

6 hours ago

Smittcamp Asks Court to Drop His Lawsuit Against Controversial NW Fresno Project

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend