Assassination threats against Donald Trump

Donald Trump has faced threats of—and in some cases, attempts at—assassination since he announced his campaign to run for President of the United States.
Assassination attempts
Thomas DiMassimo
At a campaign rally at Dayton, Ohio, Thomas DiMassimo attempted to rush the stage on which Trump was speaking. DiMassimo, 22, who had said on social media that he wanted to become a "martyr", was subdued by members of the Secret Service and later charged with disorderly conduct.
Michael Sandford
Michael Sandford, a 20-year-old Briton from Dorking in Surrey, was arrested on June 18, 2016, for attempting to kill Trump. He was a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey, for eighteen months before outstaying his visa and relocating to San Bernardino, California, to practice shooting. Sandford bought tickets to Trump rallies in Las Vegas and in Phoenix, Arizona; at the former, he was arrested for trying to steal a gun from a security guard. Sandford, who is autistic and had been treated for mental health issues in England, said that he had been preparing to kill Trump for over a year. His parents said they believed that their son had been manipulated into plotting an attack due to his low social intelligence. On June 29, Sandford was charged with disrupting an official function and two firearms counts. The charges could bring a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Assassination threats
Emadeldin Elsayed
Emadeldin Elsayed, a 23-year-old Egyptian studying to become an airline pilot in California, was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service in February 2016. Elsayed had made a threatening post against Trump on Facebook, after Trump had declared that he would temporarily ban foreign Muslims from entering the U.S. He was reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the owner of his flight school, Alex Khatib, and taken into detention. After Khatib was advised to expel his student, Elsayed had his visa revoked and was given a voluntary departure, escorted by federal agents, instead of a formal deportation. Elsayed was not charged with a criminal offense, and his treatment was criticized by the local American Civil Liberties Union and the Egyptian public as not in line with protection of free speech.
Glenn Beck
Radio host Glenn Beck was subjected to a federal investigation after reportedly threatening to stab Donald Trump. During his radio program, Glenn Beck had said, "If I was close enough and I had a knife. Really. I mean the stabbing just wouldn't stop." The conversation was reported as a threat against Donald Trump. The program's producer, Stu Burguiere wrote a Facebook post stating that the threat in the conversation was actually targeted at him. Beck was later suspended from Sirius XM after a subsequent interview in which a guest made similar threats.
Two Georgia teens
In late March 2016, Sheriff Chuck Smith of Meriwether County, Georgia, said that a 15-year-old boy was arrested for making an alleged death threat against Trump on social media. That same week, a 16-year-old boy was also arrested for making similar threats. Because both boys were minors, neither their names nor the nature of their alleged threats were released.
Brad Thor
While appearing on the Glenn Beck Radio Program, and on his Twitter account, thriller novelist Brad Thor asked, hypothetically as he later claimed, "what patriot will step up and " should a Trump presidency become tyrannical. Thor then hinted at assassinating Trump.
Both Thor and Glenn Beck (who was later suspended from Sirius XM after the interview Susan Write of RedState and Robert Tracinski of The Federalist wrote columns in support of Thor and Beck, Tracincki writing that "death to tyrants is as American as apple pie." RedState founder Erick Erickson and The Federalist editor Ben Domenech are both vocal critics of the Trump campaign.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu