Donald Trump has been involved in security incidents during his presidential campaigns and his first term in office , including assassination threats and attempts. The first known attempt occurred at a campaign rally a few weeks before Trump became the official nominee of the Republican Party in the presidential election. The most significant incident was an attempt to assassinate Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally during the presidential election , which resulted in two deaths including the would-be assassin and an injury to Trump's ear.
On March 12, , year-old Thomas DiMassimo was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct as he broke over the police barricade and attempted to rush the stage during a rally in Dayton, Ohio. He was tackled by the Secret Service. The officer quickly subdued Sandford, who was arrested and handed over to the United States Secret Service, where he expressed his desire to murder Trump. After becoming eligible for early release, Sandford was released and deported to the United Kingdom in May On November 5, , three days before the presidential election, Trump was speaking at a rally in Reno, Nevada , when a man in the crowd screamed "gun.
The man was subdued by Secret Service agents and searched, only to find that he was unarmed. Crites, a Republican who opposed Trump, was holding up a sign shortly before that stated "Republicans against Trump". Crites stated that others attempted to grab the sign and were booing him. After the scene was cleared and identified as safe, Trump returned to the stage minutes later and finished the speech without incident. On September 6, , in Mandan, North Dakota , Gregory Lee Leingang stole a forklift from an oil refinery and attempted to drive it toward the presidential motorcade while Trump was visiting to rally public support.
After the forklift became jammed within the refinery, he fled on foot and was arrested by the pursuing police. While interviewed in detention, Leingang admitted his intent to murder the president by flipping the presidential limousine with the stolen forklift, to the surprise of authorities, who had assumed he was stealing the vehicle for personal use.
Leingang pleaded guilty to the attempted attack, stealing the forklift, related charges and several other unrelated crimes on the same day. Consequently, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
