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Crisis Response

Attempted assassination of President Andrew Jackson by Richard Lawrence

On January 30, 1835, Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson at the U.S. Capitol; both of Lawrence's pistols misfired, Jackson struck him with a cane, and bystanders restrained and arrested the assailant.

As the first known assassination attempt on a sitting U.S. president, the incident highlighted vulnerabilities in presidential security and provoked national concern about political violence and mental illness.

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