A history of political violence
Assassinations have rocked American politics from the beginning
An overhead view of President John F. Kennedy's car in the Dallas motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963. (Warren Commission via AP)
![A history of political violence](https://www4.wng.org/_1500x937_crop_center-center_82_line/AP17298690979797.jpg)
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Assassinations and attempts on the lives of presidents or political leaders have played a role in American politics from the earliest days. Like the shooting of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, these acts of violence stunned the nation and often left unanswered questions. Out of 46 U.S. presidents, four have been assassinated while in office. Their tragic deaths changed the course of history. The first president to be assassinated was Abraham Lincoln and the most recent was John F. Kennedy. His 1963 shooting in Dallas is still recalled with horror and grief by many Americans living today.
Click through the photo slideshow below to learn more about some of the most well-known instances of assassinations or assassination attempts in American history.
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President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot in Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. This picture from the era shows his deathbed scene with Mrs. Lincoln kneeling next to her dead husband while cabinet members gather around him. (AP Photo)
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On July 2, 1881, President James A. Garfied was walking casually through a reception room in a Washington, D.C. railroad station. At the other end of the room, near an exit, stood 39-year-old attorney Charles Guiteau. When the president reached the center of the room, Guiteau fired twice, hitting the president in the left shoulder and in the back, as shown in this undated photo of a drawing made by an unknown artist. Garfield died Sept. 19. Guiteau was executed for the crime. (AP Photo/New York Public Library)
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Theodore Roosevelt was shot while giving a campaign speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Oct. 14, 1912. Roosevelt refused to go immediately to the hospital and continued giving his speech. Doctors later concluded removing the bullet would be more dangerous than leaving it in place, and the bullet remained lodged in Roosevelt’s chest the rest of his life. (AP Photo)
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Sen. Huey Long was only 42 when an assassin’s bullet struck him inside the Louisiana State House on Sept. 8, 1935. He died two days later. Long, who previously served as governor, was planning to take on Franklin Roosevelt in the next election when Dr. Carl Weiss shot him at point-blank range. Historians debate Weiss’ motives, but his relatives were Long’s political rivals. (AP Photo)
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President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in a motorcade in Dallas during a campaign visit. The president’s limousine raced to nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital, but doctors pronounced Kennedy dead at 1 p.m. He was 46 years old. (AP Photo)
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Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy, was mortally wounded in a Los Angeles hotel June 5, 1968, after claiming victory in the California Democratic presidential primary election. Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian-Jordanian, was arrested at the scene and convicted of killing the U.S. senator from New York and wounding five others. Sirhan, who remains imprisoned in California, said he was motivated by Kennedy’s support for Israel. (AP Photo/Dick Strobel, File)
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Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot twice May 15, 1972, in Laurel, Md., while shaking hands with supporters during a campaign stop for the Democratic nomination for president. He was paralyzed from the waist down by the assassination attempt. The assailant, Arthur Bremer, was arrested at the scene, convicted, incarcerated, and released from prison in 2007. After the shooting, Wallace won primaries in Maryland and Michigan, but the assassination attempt effectively ended his campaign. He died in 1998. (AP Photo/CBS)
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San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, and Harvey Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, were shot and killed inside San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White on Nov. 27, 1978. White was sentenced to seven years in prison and committed suicide a year and a half after his release. (AP Photo/James Palmer)
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Secret Service agents shove U.S. President Ronald Reagan into his limousine after he's shot outside a Washington hotel Monday, March 30, 1981. John Hinckley Jr. shot the president to impress actress Jodie Foster after developing an obsession with her. The bullet, fired from a revolver, ricocheted off the side of the limousine and hit Reagan in the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing serious internal bleeding. He was released from the hospital 12 days later. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
![](https://www4.wng.org/Giffords_2024-07-14-023032_wcgn.jpg)
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting in a supermarket parking lot on Jan. 8, 2011. Six people died. Police arrested the shooter, Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old Tucson man, at the scene. He was eventually sentenced to life in prison. Giffords gradually recovered from her injuries, although she resigned her seat a year after the shooting. She continues to advocate for gun control laws. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
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On June 14, 2017, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot during practice for the Congressional Baseball Game. James Hodgkinson, 66, shot five other people at the baseball field before police killed him. The Virginia Attorney General concluded Hodgkinson's attack was "an act of terrorism ... fueled by rage against Republican legislators." (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
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