Former President Trump Faces Unprecedented Level of Threats, Including Multiple Assassination Attempts

Former President Donald Trump has endured an unparalleled number of threats and security incidents, establishing a record for any U.S. leader, whether currently in office or retired. In recent years, incidents related to threats against him have occurred approximately every two to three months.

Over the past two years alone, Trump has survived three significant assassination attempts and nearly a dozen other security-related events. Since first assuming the presidency in 2017, he has faced close to 20 documented threats.

A Historical Perspective on Presidential Threats

In contrast, most other U.S. presidents who were targets of assassination attempts experienced only a single incident. The sole exception was President Gerald R. Ford, who survived two. Presidents who have been targeted include Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Of these, four presidents — Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy — ultimately lost their lives to assassins.

Seven documented threat incidents occurred during Trump's initial term as president. His 2024 presidential campaign saw four additional incidents, notably including two assassination attempts. His second term in office has already witnessed eight further incidents, one of which was a third assassination attempt.

Early Security Challenges During the 2016 Campaign

Trump’s first three security incidents took place during his 2016 presidential campaign, before he ever entered the White House.

• March 2016: During a campaign rally in Dayton, Ohio, a 22-year-old individual named Thomas DiMassimo attempted to rush the stage. He was subsequently arrested. DiMassimo informed law enforcement he intended to seize the microphone and declare Trump a racist, though he reportedly did not intend to cause physical harm. He later received a sentence of one year of probation.
• June 2016: Three months later, a British national, Michael Steven Sandford, tried to grab a police officer's handgun from her holster at a Trump campaign rally in Las Vegas, according to a federal criminal complaint. Sandford initially claimed he sought an autograph from Trump but later confessed his intention was to kill him. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison.
• November 2016: Secret Service agents swiftly escorted Trump off the stage at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, after an attendee shouted "gun." While no weapon was found, Austyn Crites, 33, was briefly detained. Crites stated he had brought a sign that read "Republicans Against Trump." Trump returned to the stage minutes later to conclude his remarks.

Threats During the First Presidency (2017-2020)

• September 2017: In North Dakota, a man stole a forklift and drove it towards Trump's presidential motorcade in what appeared to be an attempt to overturn the limousine. The suspect, Gregory Lee Leingang, later pleaded guilty to federal charges and, in 2019, was sentenced to time served plus one year of supervised release.
• October 2018: A Navy veteran in Utah faced charges after ricin-laced letters, addressed to Trump and other government officials, were intercepted before delivery. William Clyde Allen III was charged with five federal counts but was later deemed incompetent to assist in his defense.
• August 2020: During a televised news conference, Trump was abruptly removed from a briefing room after a Secret Service officer shot a man who had threatened to harm people near the White House. The individual, Myron Basil Berryman, 51, from Forestville, Maryland, was found to be unarmed and was arrested on a charge of assaulting a law enforcement officer by the Metropolitan Police Department.
• September 2020: A ricin-laced letter intended for Trump was mailed but intercepted before it could reach the White House. The sender, Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, a dual citizen of Canada and France, admitted to producing ricin at her Canadian residence. She was subsequently sentenced to 262 months in prison, equating to over 21 years, followed by lifetime supervised release.

Security Incidents During the 2024 Presidential Campaign

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump encountered two assassination attempts and two additional threat-related incidents.

• July 2024: The first assassination attempt on Trump occurred at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, resulting in the death of one spectator and critically injuring two others. The assailant, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, struck Trump in the upper right ear before being neutralized by a Secret Service sniper.
• July 2024: One day before the Butler assassination attempt, federal authorities apprehended a Pakistani national, Asif Merchant, who was accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot targeting Trump and other U.S. officials on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Merchant was convicted in federal court in March 2026.
• September 2024: Two months after the Butler incident, Secret Service agents identified a gunman concealed in bushes with a rifle near Trump's Florida golf course while the then-presidential candidate was golfing. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested and later received a life sentence in prison.
• November 2024: Following the second assassination attempt on Trump in September 2024, the Justice Department revealed another alleged Iranian murder-for-hire plot aimed at the former president. The suspect, Farhad Shakeri, was identified as an Iranian government asset tasked with planning Trump's assassination. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated in March 2026 that Shakeri had been killed in a U.S. military operation.

Escalating Threats in the Second Presidency (2025-2026)

Just 18 months into his second term, Trump has faced seven additional threat-related incidents and one more assassination attempt.

• May 2025: A Florida man, Christopher Davies, was arraigned in federal court after allegedly sending a letter to an official at the Charlotte Correctional Institution, claiming he had "orchestrated the most daring Presidential assassination that this country has ever seen" and that "Donald J. Trump must perish." Davies later admitted his desire to kill Trump and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.
• July 2025: In Texas, authorities arrested Robert Herrera after he allegedly posted threats against Trump on social media ahead of the president's visit to the state following July 4th flooding along the Guadalupe River. Herrera was later sentenced to two years in prison.
• August 2025: A Georgia man, Jauan Rashun Porter, 29, was arrested after allegedly posting a comment on a TikTok livestream threatening to shoot Trump. His comment read, "So there's only one way to make America great and that is putting a bullet in between Trump's eyes." Porter was subsequently sentenced to over three years in federal prison.
• February 2026: An armed individual drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach as another vehicle was exiting the property. The suspect, 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, was fatally shot by authorities.
• April 2026: Federal officials unsealed a criminal complaint against Kadrioan Serainity Santiago, 23, a Kentucky man accused of publishing a series of politically violent threats on Instagram between January and late March 2026. Santiago allegedly threatened to cut Trump with a razor blade and feed his skin to stray dogs. He also threatened to kill the next law enforcement officer he encountered, encouraged violence against ICE agents, and posted comments such as, "I’m filled with political violence."
• June 2026: Law enforcement officials uncovered an alleged terrorism conspiracy targeting Trump's UFC event at the White House, just four days before the mixed martial arts event was scheduled. Authorities indicted eight men in connection with a plot to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and open fire on attendees as they fled.
• August 2026: At the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, authorities apprehended Jeanine John Taele, 38, who was allegedly photographing and recording security preparations before a scheduled fundraising dinner. Taele was found carrying a 16-round magazine loaded with ammunition, and investigators recovered an additional pistol and a counterfeit "security protection agent" badge from his truck.