Honestly, if you've been keeping even a casual eye on the news lately, your head is probably spinning. It feels like every other week there’s a new "security incident" or a "threat neutralised" headline. People are constantly asking: did someone try to assassinate trump again, or is the media just stuck in a loop?
It’s not just you. The sheer volume of close calls and actual attempts since mid-2024 has been enough to make anyone cynical. But when you dig into the actual police reports and the court filings—the real stuff, not just the Twitter rumors—the picture is actually pretty terrifying. We aren't talking about one isolated event anymore. We're talking about a series of failures, lucky breaks, and a Secret Service that has basically had to reinvent itself on the fly.
The July 13th Nightmare in Butler
Most people remember the image. The fist in the air. The blood on the ear. That day in Butler, Pennsylvania, was the moment the world shifted. Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old who seemingly came out of nowhere, managed to get onto a roof less than 150 yards from the stage.
How? That's the question that ended up costing Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle her job.
Crooks wasn't some master assassin. He was a kid with a rangefinder and an AR-style rifle he got from his father. He flew a drone over the site earlier that day. People in the crowd saw him. They literally pointed him out to police. A local officer even climbed up to the roof, looked Crooks in the eye, and then had to retreat when Crooks pointed the rifle at him. Seconds later, shots rang out.
One man, Corey Comperatore, lost his life protecting his family. Two others were critically injured. Trump survived because he turned his head at the exact millisecond the bullet arrived. It’s the kind of thing you’d call "bad writing" if it happened in a movie.
The Second Attempt: The Golf Course Sniper
Fast forward just 64 days. September 15, 2024. Trump is at his golf club in West Palm Beach. This one didn't get as much "iconic" footage, but in some ways, it was even more calculated.
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Ryan Wesley Routh didn't just show up. According to his cell phone records, he had been camping out in the shrubbery along the fence line for about 12 hours. He had a sniper’s nest set up with an SKS-style rifle, a GoPro to film the act, and even ceramic tiles in his backpack to act as makeshift body armor.
He was waiting for Trump to reach the sixth hole.
The only reason this didn't end in a shootout on the green was a Secret Service agent named Robert Fercano. He was doing a sweep one hole ahead of the former president and saw the barrel of the rifle poking through the fence. Fercano didn't wait. He opened fire, sending Routh running for his black Nissan SUV.
Routh was caught a bit later in a neighboring county. What’s wild is that he actually left a "confession" letter with a friend months earlier, basically apologizing for failing to finish the job. In September 2025, a jury found him guilty on all counts, including the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate. He’s looking at life in prison now.
The Coachella Incident: Threat or Misunderstanding?
Then came the Coachella rally in October 2024. This is where the answer to did someone try to assassinate trump again gets a little murky.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco made national waves when he told reporters his deputies had likely "prevented the third assassination attempt." They arrested a guy named Vem Miller at a checkpoint. He had multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle, a loaded handgun, and a shotgun.
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The federal authorities—the FBI and the Secret Service—weren't so sure. They issued a statement saying Trump was never in any "actual danger." Miller himself claimed he was a huge Trump supporter who just traveled with guns for protection because he'd received death threats.
So, was it a thwarted hit or a guy with too many guns and bad paperwork? The feds leaned toward the latter, but the incident highlighted just how twitchy everyone had become. After Butler and West Palm Beach, "better safe than sorry" became the only mode of operation.
Why the Security Kept Failing
You can't talk about these attempts without talking about the "operational failures." That’s the polite term the government uses for "we messed up."
The bipartisan task force that investigated the Butler shooting released a 180-page report that was pretty scathing. They found:
- Poor Communication: Local police and Secret Service were on different radio frequencies. They couldn't talk to each other in real-time.
- Line-of-Sight Issues: Nobody was assigned to the roof Crooks used because it was "outside the perimeter," even though it had a clear shot at the stage.
- Inexperience: They were putting people in charge of "advance planning" who had almost no experience in those roles.
By the time 2025 rolled around, the agency was under massive pressure to change. They started using military-grade drones for every outdoor event. They finally got the budget to put "ballistic glass" (bulletproof shields) around Trump at his rallies.
The Current State of Security in 2026
So, where are we now? The Secret Service has basically been rebuilt from the ground up. They've created a whole new "Aviation and Airspace Security" division because, apparently, drones are the new frontline.
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They also stopped playing favorites with protection. A new law passed late in 2024 requires the Secret Service to provide the exact same level of security to major presidential candidates as they do for the sitting President. No more "he's just a candidate" excuses.
We've seen several "security lapses" since then—a guy trying to get onto Air Force One, some suspicious packages at Mar-a-Lago—but the high-profile sniper attempts have slowed down. Mostly because the "perimeters" are now massive. If you go to a rally today, you’ll see snipers on every single roof within a half-mile radius. It’s a different world.
What You Can Actually Do With This Information
If you’re trying to keep track of the news without losing your mind, here is how you should look at the "assassination" headlines:
- Verify the Source: If it's a "breaking" story on social media, wait two hours. Usually, the "shooter" ends up being a guy with a camera tripod or a protestor with a loud sign.
- Look for the Weapon: A real assassination attempt, legally speaking, usually involves a weapon and a clear "intent." The FBI is very specific about this. If they aren't charging "Attempted Assassination," it’s probably a security breach, not a hit.
- Check the Court Records: The Ryan Routh case is the gold standard for how these things are handled. The evidence—the letters, the cell tower data, the scope—was undeniable. If that evidence isn't there, take the "thwarted attempt" headlines with a grain of salt.
The reality is that political violence has become a permanent fixture of the conversation. Whether it was Thomas Crooks in a Pennsylvania field or Ryan Routh in the Florida bushes, the threats were real. The question isn't just "did someone try," but whether the system is finally fast enough to stop the next one before a shot is fired.
To stay truly informed, you should keep an eye on the official Department of Justice press releases regarding the ongoing Routh sentencing and any new findings from the House Task Force on the Butler shooting, as they continue to release updated security protocols for the current election cycle.