US political history is full of assassinations: Here are the US presidents who were assassinated throughout history
The assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump yesterday was the latest in a series of acts of political violence that have frequently shaped US history. While Trump survived the attempt unharmed, the development has dominated the global agenda. However, the second assassination attempt against Trump is not the first in US history. Here are some of the attacks carried out against US presidents and presidential candidates.
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Donald Trump
During Trump's 2016 campaign, a 20-year-old British man attempted to seize a police officer's weapon at a Trump rally in Las Vegas. He later told police he was trying to kill Trump and pleaded guilty to the charges. On July 13, at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, an attacker opened fire, and the bullet grazed the ear of the Republican presidential nominee, Trump.
Ronald Reagan
On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at the President in Washington, hitting Reagan and three others. The President was seriously wounded but recovered after surgery. The other three victims also survived. Hinckley was immediately arrested and held under psychiatric observation until 2016, 12 years after Reagan's death.
Gerald Ford
Lynette Fromme, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson, attempted to shoot Ford in Sacramento, California, on September 5, 1975. Three weeks later, Sara Jane Moore fired at Ford in San Francisco, making the two women the most prominent female assassination attempters in U.S. history.
Robert F. Kennedy
Less than five years after his brother's assassination, Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed Kennedy in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, while he was a candidate in the Democratic Party primaries. Sirhan was sentenced to life in prison.
John F. Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed the President in Dallas, Texas. Following Oswald's murder by Jack Ruby two days later, the assassination continues to spark debates over whether Oswald acted alone.
Theodore Roosevelt
When Roosevelt was shot while giving a speech in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912, he was a former president campaigning to return to the White House. Roosevelt, who survived thanks to the 50-page manuscript of his speech and the spectacle case in his pocket, continued his speech. The assassin, John Schrank, was found to be mentally unstable and was committed to a mental institution until his death.
William McKinley
McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901, and passed away after failing to recover from his serious injuries. Consequently, Vice President Roosevelt became president. Leon Czolgosz was found guilty of the assassination and was executed.
James Garfield
Garfield was shot in Washington on July 2, 1881. He died two months later due to complications arising from his wounds. Writer and lawyer Charles Guiteau was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was shot in Washington on April 14, 1865, by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor, and Booth was killed about two weeks later.