Timeline: Shootings, threats against Trump over the years
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Donald Trump speaks on the final day of the Republican National Convention as an image of him raising his fist after an assassination attempt is displayed on screen in Milwaukee, Wis., on July 18, 2024. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP
Shots rang out at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night, sending Secret Service agents to evacuate President Trump from the Washington Hilton ballroom — and adding to a list of close calls no modern president has faced.
The big picture: Saturday's threat is the latest in a documented pattern dating back to Trump's first presidential campaign. The record spans lone gunmen at his rallies, Iranian state-backed murder-for-hire plots and repeated security breaches.
The latest: Scant details have emerged about Saturday night's shooting, including whether the president was the intended target.
- Shots were fired around 8:30pm ET at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was being held. Trump was scheduled to speak at the event, and Vice President Vance, several members of Trump's Cabinet and Congressional lawmakers were also in attendance.
- "This is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin," Trump told the press after the shooting.
Catch up quick: Trump has survived two prior assassination attempts, both during his 2024 campaign. Both exposed Secret Service failures that prompted investigations and leadership purges at the agency.
- Butler, Pennsylvania: Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired from what the FBI called an "AR-style 556 rifle" at a Trump rally. He grazed Trump's right ear and killed an attendee, and was later killed by a Secret Service sniper. A subsequent Senate report faulted Secret Service planning, communications and leadership.
- West Palm Beach, Florida: Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted with a rifle at Trump International Golf Club while Trump was playing on the course. A Secret Service agent fired at Routh, who fled and was arrested. He is now serving a life sentence.
Zoom in: Beyond those attempts, Trump has faced a series of other plots, threats and security failures.
- June 2016: A 20-year-old British national tried to grab a police officer's gun at a Trump rally in Las Vegas, later telling agents he meant to kill Trump.
- September 2017: A man stole a forklift in North Dakota and aimed it at the presidential motorcade, planning to flip the limousine.
- September 2020: A dual French-Canadian citizen mailed Trump a letter containing deadly ricin.
- July 2024: A Pakistani national was arrested and later convicted of running a murder-for-hire plot on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to kill Trump. Months later, an Iranian charged with attempting to kill another U.S. citizen said he'd also been directed to kill Trump.
- February 2026: Secret Service killed a 21-year-old who brought a shotgun and a gas canister to Mar-a-Lago while Trump was back in Washington.
The bottom line: Trump acknowledged the growing list of threats but told reporters he has no plans to scale back public appearances.
- "We're not going to let anybody take over our society," the president said. "We're not going to cancel things out because we can't do that."
