Fourth Assassination Attempt on President Trump Occurs at Washington Event

A 31-year-old man attempted to storm the Washington Hilton ballroom during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where President Trump and administration members were present. The Secret Service intervened, and the event was canceled. The man was armed with two guns and several knives.

The man had sent a manifesto to his family beforehand, in which he referred to President Trump as a pedophile, rapist, and traitor. The document also criticized actions including the destruction of alleged Venezuelan drug boats, detention of illegal immigrants, and the war in Iran.

He sprinted through a checkpoint toward the ballroom.

Three months prior to the latest incident, 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin drove into the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Florida. He was armed with a gasoline container and a shotgun, and Secret Service agents killed him.

President Trump was not at the residence at the time, and Martin's communications referenced the Epstein files and a need to raise awareness about them. In September 2025, Ryan Routh was arrested after a Secret Service agent spotted him aiming a rifle through the bushes surrounding the golf course, where President Trump was playing nearby.

Court documents indicate Routh disliked Trump and supported then-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Prosecutors stated Routh offered $150,000 to anyone who could complete an assassination if he failed, and he inquired about obtaining weapons like a rocket-propelled grenade.

In July 2025, a shooter fired a shot that grazed President Trump’s ear during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania. A Secret Service sniper killed the shooter, and his motives remain undetermined, possibly related to mental health issues and social isolation.

the most recent attempt, President Trump addressed reporters at the White House, stating he was not deterred and urging Americans to resolve differences peacefully. He described a sense of unity at the event and called for the dinner to be rescheduled soon.

“I’m not going to be deterred," President Trump told reporters upon returning to the White House after the dinner was cancelled. Rep. Ro Khanna stated that a bipartisan commission should examine political violence, including mental health issues and language, to reduce tensions. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had recently accused him of running a pedophile protection program related to the withholding of Jeffrey Epstein files by the Justice Department.”