We have seen two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump. As a targeted violence researcher, I lecture on fixated beliefs seen in many attackers such as mass shooters, terrorists, school shooters and assassins. Some US presidential assassins were found insane, albeit utilizing outdated psychiatric criteria. Let’s examine a few, using modern psychiatric definitions.
Fanatics Come in Historical Waves
Assassin comes from the Italian and French term Assissini which shares its word origin with hashish. It originally referred to religious fanatics. Assassins often belong to the same ilk or subculture—a fanatical desire to achieve fame, notoriety and a special place in history. Historical and political cultures as well as the attackers they spawn come in waves. In 1914, members of the Black Hand secret nationalist group assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, igniting World War I. American presidential assassins also held ideologically framed subcultures, within a unique snapshot of history.
Threat assessment professionals use the term Extreme Overvalued Beliefs to describe the motives seen in many targeted attacks such as mass shootings, assassinations and acts of terrorism. An extreme overvalued belief is one that is shared by others in an assassin’s culture, religion or subculture. It should be differentiated from a delusion (seen in psychotic mental disorders, such as schizophrenia) or an obsession (ego-dystonic and anxious belief). The Ancient Greek concept of Thumos captures most assassins’ spirited desire for recognition.
John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln)
Booth was a famous actor and rigorously defended the Confederate culture of slavery and white supremacy. He saw President Lincoln as a tyrant who was taking away white Southerners’ rights to have an independent Confederacy, with slavery at its core. After shooting Lincoln at Ford’s theater on April 14, 1865, he relished, amplified and defended his actions by exclaiming on stage, “Sic Semper Tyrannis,” which means “thus always to tyrants.” Booth and his conspirators shared in the radical belief that the assassination of President Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward would disrupt the United States government, allowing the Confederacy to re-establish itself.
Charles Giteau (Garfield)
Guiteau described himself as “a lawyer, a theologian and politician,” but had little in the way of actual accomplishments. He wrote an obscure speech called “Garfield vs Hancock” and saw himself as an important Republican Stalwart. He held a grandiose belief that his work for the party was critical to Garfield’s election to the presidency. Guiteau made personal requests to Garfield and his cabinet for employment, but he was continually rejected. He made the decision to assassinate Garfield, allowing Vice President Chester A. Arthur to become President.
He wrote an address (a manifesto) to the American people, accusing Garfield of “the basest ingratitude to the Stalwarts” and said the president was on a course to “wreck the once grand old Republican party.” He wrote that assassination, was “not murder; it is a political necessity” and “I leave my justification to God and the American people.” Guiteau, believed himself as “a Stalwart of the Stalwarts,” and wrote that “the President…will be happier in Paradise than here.” He ended his note with a self-incriminating statement, “I am going to jail.”
On July 2, 1881, he shot Garfield at a railroad station in Washington, D.C. As he surrendered to authorities, Guiteau said: “I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. … Arthur is president now!” This statement along with other evidence presented at trial showed that he relished, amplified and defended his actions. He was sentenced to death by hanging.
Having failed in work, family and most other areas of life, Giteau relished in the idea of fame—and that others who shared in his political beliefs (opponents of President Garfield) would approve of his actions and make him a hero or patriot. Indeed, at his trial, he compared himself to George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant.
Leon Czolgosz (McKinley)
Czolgosz was an anarchist who referred to himself as “Fred Nieman” in German which means “Fred Nobody.” Seeking fame and recognition, on September 6, 1901, he shot President William McKinley in the chest at point-blank range.
Czolgosz believed that great injustices in American society allowed the wealthy to exploit the poor for profit. He believed this was due to flaws in the structure of government. A previous assassination had recently taken place in Italy—King Umberto I was killed by an anarchist on July 29, 1900. The assassin, Gaetano Bresci stated that he had decided to take matters into his own hands for the sake of the common man.
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Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK)
Outwardly appearing to be a stable, married man, Oswald had a long history of character and temperamental problems resulting in tumultuous work, military, and social issues. On October 21, 1959, Oswald was found bleeding and unconscious in a Russian hotel room bathtub after he had slashed his wrist in a manipulative attempt to remain in the Soviet Union. A self-described Marxist-Leninist, Oswald expected fame and notoriety when he defected there, but the KGB became highly suspicious of him and turned him away. His leftist beliefs were commonly espoused by others in 1960s leftist subculture, including music legend Bob Dylan. Oswald relished, amplified, and defended his extreme political philosophy
throughout much of his adult life. After attempting to assassinate General Edwin Walker, a bigger target (JFK) captured his attention.
John Hinckley, Jr (Reagan)
John Hinckley, Jr. was envious of his siblings—they were honored by his family with large oil paintings. Hinckley, meanwhile, struggled in life and sought fame in extreme ways. He began to relish in his affection for a beautiful, blue-eyed young actress, Jodie Foster. Instead of developing real relationships with women, he became inspired by Foster’s part in the movie Taxi Driver in which she played a prostitute. His beliefs that they were destined to be together grew more dominant, refined, and resistant to challenge over time. Despite the knowledge that they could never be together, he held an intense emotional commitment to be with Foster.
Prosecution expert Dr. Park Dietz asked him if he had been trying to impress Jodie Foster, and he said, “Well, it is a combination of things: to impress her, almost to traumatize her. That is the best word. To link myself with her for almost the rest of history, if you want to go that far.” Dr. Dietz believed that “Hinckley reveled in the memory of being transported by well-armed U.S. Marshals in a helicopter. He was featured on the cover of Newsweek, rewarding his effort. He told Dietz, “I got everything I was going for.” He fantasized about being famous. In fact, so famous that he would be elevated to a glamorous level that would enable him to be with Foster. Noted forensic psychologist Dr. Reid Meloy has described two forms of erotomania. The clinically accepted delusional erotomania, in which patients believe that another person is in love with them (exact opposite of Hinckley’s fixation); and borderline erotomania, in which no delusion is present, yet there is an extreme and overvalued disorder of attachment in the pursuit of, and in the potential for violence toward, the unrequited love object (Foster). Nevertheless, a federal jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity.
By understanding the political and historical context of assassins, we can create more precise definitions to thwart future attacks.
