Donald Trump in the Bullseye: 9 Attempted Assassinations
July 14, 2024
On July 13, 2024, a 20-year-old man named Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was injured and bleeding from his right ear, while one person at the rally was killed and two others were critically hurt. Secret Service agents quickly responded and shot Crooks dead. However, it was not the first; as documented by GreatGameInternational, this shocking incident marked the ninth assassination attempt on Trump’s life.
Assassination Attempt 1
At a June 18, 2016, rally for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Las Vegas, Michael Steven Sandford tried to grab a police officer’s pistol to kill Trump and stop him from becoming president. After his arrest, Sandford admitted his plan and was charged with disorderly conduct and being an “illegal alien in possession of a firearm” because he had rented a gun at a shooting range. On September 13, 2016, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to just over a year in prison. He served 11 months before being deported to the UK.
Sandford, a British citizen with a long history of mental health issues, sparked criticism of the UK’s mental health care system. Although the incident didn’t get much media attention in the U.S., it was the focus of a BBC documentary in February 2017.
Assassination Attempt 2
On September 6, 2017, in Mandan, North Dakota, Gregory Lee Leingang stole a forklift from an oil refinery and tried to drive it toward President Trump’s motorcade during a visit. The forklift got stuck, and Leingang fled on foot but was quickly caught by police. In custody, he shocked authorities by revealing he intended to flip the president’s limousine with the forklift. They had assumed he was just stealing it for personal use. Leingang pleaded guilty to the attempted attack, stealing the forklift, and other unrelated crimes. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with his defense attorney citing a “serious psychiatric crisis.”
Assassination Attempt 3
![A member of the Secret Service stands guard as Marine One, with President Donald Trump on board, departs the South Lawn of the White House on March 23. A new report by National Geographic details an attempted assassination last year by ISIS operatives against Trump that was stopped by the Secret Service. A member of the Secret Service stands guard as Marine One, with President Donald Trump on board, departs the South Lawn of the White House on March 23. A new report by National Geographic details an attempted assassination last year by ISIS operatives against Trump that was stopped by the Secret Service.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F015c5acc-36f3-4f56-a014-7b504563fd16_790x526.jpeg)
In Manila’s Rizal Park, a man linked to ISIL was arrested by the Philippine National Police for plotting to assassinate Trump during the ASEAN Summit in November, 2017. The Secret Service had been on high alert due to ISIL’s presence in the Philippines and numerous online threats against Trump. Just before Trump’s plane landed, they identified a serious threat from a man who had posted his intentions on social media. The Secret Service swiftly located and arrested him. The government kept the incident under wraps for a year before revealing it in a television documentary.
Assassination Attempt 4
![William Clyde Allen III was 39-years-old when he tried to "send a message" to the US President Donald Trump in 2018. He sent letters with envelopes laced with ricin addressed to the White House and wrote “Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder” on the top of the envelopes. William Clyde Allen III was 39-years-old when he tried to "send a message" to the US President Donald Trump in 2018. He sent letters with envelopes laced with ricin addressed to the White House and wrote “Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder” on the top of the envelopes.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F33a5a981-3c50-415a-955f-548fb18bce44_918x506.avif)
On October 1, 2018, an envelope containing ricin was sent to President Trump but was intercepted at a mailing facility. Similar letters, marked with “Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder,” were also sent to the Pentagon. Two days later, William Clyde Allen III, a 39-year-old Navy veteran from Utah, was arrested. He was charged with sending threats to the president and mailing threatening communications to U.S. officials. Allen pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Assassination Attempt 5
A U.S. Air Force helicopter, used to transport VIPs including President Trump, was shot at while flying over Virginia, injuring a crew member in August of 2020. The UH-1N Huey helicopter, assigned to Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington, D.C., was conducting a routine training flight roughly 1,000 feet above the ground before it was forced to make an emergency landing, after being struck by a bullet. The helicopter was assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron, which supports the movement of the president to and from Andrews, where Air Force One is also based.
Assassination Attempt 6
TRUMP EVACUATED from White House press briefing room by US Secret Service. An agent locked the briefing room doors from the exterior.
Watch on X 4:53 AM · Aug 11, 2020
A day later in August of 2020, another assassination attempt on President Donald Trump was thwarted by the Secret Service when shots were fired outside the White House. After a press briefing, Trump revealed that someone was shot and taken to the hospital, but the Secret Service assured that the White House was never in danger. The incident heightened tensions, especially as Trump had promised to declassify the remaining JFK files. Interestingly, the incident coincided with Bob Dylan’s new song referencing the JFK assassination and the mysterious deaths of Kennedy family members, sparking further intrigue.
Assassination Attempt 7
On September 20, 2020, Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier was arrested in Buffalo, New York, while trying to cross into Canada. The Canadian woman had sent a letter to Trump laced with ricin, urging him to drop out of the 2020 presidential race and calling him an “ugly tyrant clown.” She faced eight charges related to biological weapons and making threats across state lines, potentially leading to life in prison. On August 17, 2023, a U.S. court sentenced Ferrier to nearly 22 years for the ricin letter sent to then-President Trump.
Assassination Attempt 8
![This photo of Barry Croft Jr., a suspect in the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (U.S. Attorney’s Office exhibit) This photo of Barry Croft Jr., a suspect in the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (U.S. Attorney’s Office exhibit)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fce901629-f7e7-4da6-ac9d-1a966db12fa8_800x503.avif)
In October 2020, Barry Croft Jr., a man from Delaware, was arrested for plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Shocking details revealed that he wanted to hang several politicians, including Trump. Fast forward to December 2022, and Croft was sentenced to 19 years in prison for his dangerous actions.
Assassination Attempt 9
Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States and the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 election, was shot in the upper right ear on July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, climbed onto a roof and fired eight rounds from an AR-15–style rifle before being taken out by a Secret Service sniper.
After the shot, Trump hit the ground but quickly got back up, bleeding from his ear. Surrounded by Secret Service agents, he asked for his shoes, pumped his fist in the air, and shouted “fight, fight” before being rushed to a vehicle. He was taken to the hospital and released in stable condition, then flew to New Jersey.
Sadly, one rally attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured. The incident is being investigated as an attempted assassination, marking the first time a U.S. president has been injured in such an attack since Ronald Reagan in 1981, and the first for a candidate since George Wallace in 1972.
BigMouth Summary: Clearly the US Secret Service was complicit in the failure to secure a perimeter of adequate size surrounding the venue where former President Trump was speaking. A sniper is perfectly capable of hitting a target at 1,000 yards on a calm day, and reliable estimates put the shooter at the very small distance of 440 feet from the podium. That the shooter was visible to others for at least 3 minutes before firing 8 rounds indicates the US Secret Service was compromised. Their placing the blame upon local police is ludicrous beyond comprehension.
While numerous other attempts were thwarted, threats are received on a daily basis, most of which are not in the public record. The FBI bears a great deal of responsibility for their failure to follow up on these and to be transparent about it. In fact many threats are received from politicians and political activists, including President Biden, Maxine Waters, and countless others.