, there have been multiple instances of political violence targeting U.S. presidents, former presidents and major party presidential candidates.
Two years before the assassination, during the Civil War, which was fought over slavery, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation granting freedom to slaves within the Confederacy.Booth was shot and killed on April 26, 1865, after he was found hiding in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia.Garfield was the second president to be assassinated, six months after taking office.
Truman was not injured, but a White House policeman and one of the assailants were killed in an exchange of gunfire. Two other White House policemen were wounded. Two days later, Oswald was being taken from police headquarters to the county jail when Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby rushed forward and fatally shot Oswald.President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade one minute before he was shot, Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas.Ford faced two assassination attempts within weeks in 1975 and was not hurt in either incident.
Hinckley was arrested and confined to a mental hospital after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. In 2022, Hinckley was freed from court oversight after a judge determined he was “no longer a danger to himself or others.”FILE - In this March 30, 1981, President Reagan waves, then looks up before being shoved into his limo by agents after being shot.