Summary
Confessed plan to ram and flip the presidential limousine in order to kill President Trump; forklift became jammed inside the refinery before he could reach the motorcade.
"Investigators quoted his stated intent: to flip the limo and kill the president."
Key facts
- Weapon of choice was a stolen forklift, not a firearm
- Also committed two arson fires the same morning
- Forklift became stuck inside refinery grounds; fled on foot and was arrested
- Pleaded guilty in 2018; only confessed the assassination motive after detention
- Public defender argued severe untreated mental illness
Perpetrator profile
- Full name
- Gregory Lee Leingang
- Age at time
- Unknown
- Date of birth
- Not publicly reported
- Gender
- Male
- Race / ethnicity
- Not publicly reported
- Nationality
- American
- Residence
- Bismarck / Mandan area, ND
- Education
- Not publicly documented
- Occupation
- Not publicly documented
- Political affiliation
- Not publicly documented
- Mental health (reported)
- Diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder; public defender said he was in a serious psychiatric crisis at the time of the incident
- Prior criminal record
- Yes
- Acted alone
- Yes
- Online footprint
- Not publicly documented
- Family background
- Not publicly documented
Attempt & outcome
- Weapons & equipment
- Stolen forklift (intended to flip the presidential limousine)
- Rounds fired — perpetrator
- 0
- Rounds fired — law enforcement
- 0
- Distance to target
- —
- Trump present
- Yes
- Trump injured
- No
- Bystander casualties
- 0 killed · 0 injured
- Law-enforcement casualties
- 0 killed · 0 injured
- Current status
- Convicted & sentenced
- Sentence
- 10 years (arson) + 5 years (forklift theft) + 5 years (burglary), state prison; estimated release 2038
- Preparation
- Set two arson fires earlier the same morning (a ballpark maintenance shop and the state parole office); stole a forklift from refinery grounds and drove toward the motorcade route
Coverage timeline 11 articles
- Security incidents involving Donald Trump Wikipedia
Public-record entry placing the Leingang plot within Trump's broader threat history.
- Inside one man's failed plan to use a stolen forklift to assassinate Trump Washington Post
Deep narrative reconstruction of the September 2017 plot and its collapse.
- Bismarck man sentenced in plan to attack presidential limo Washington Times
Wire-style report on the federal sentencing of time served plus supervised release.
- ND man pleads guilty to using stolen forklift in Trump assassination attempt KIRO 7 News
Cox Media wire-style summary distributed across affiliate stations.
- Man pleads guilty to planning to flip Trump's limo with a stolen forklift The Hill
National pickup of the federal plea naming Leingang's stated motive.
- North Dakota man pleads guilty to stealing forklift to 'kill' Trump HuffPost
Coverage emphasising Leingang's admission of intent to kill the president.
- Man stole forklift to 'flip' Donald Trump's limo in effort to kill him Newsweek
Mainstream weekly summary of the plea agreement and arson charges.
- ND man pleads guilty to planning to kill Trump with a forklift Fox News
National coverage of the federal plea proceeding.
- ND man pleads guilty after attempting to flip Trump's limo with a forklift Valley News Live
Local TV report on the federal guilty plea filed in Bismarck.
- North Dakota man pleads guilty to taking forklift, planning to flip the limo Grand Forks Herald
Court details: Leingang admitted intent to flip the presidential limousine.
- Arson suspect accused of setting two fires in Bismarck Bismarck Tribune
Local report on the two morning fires Leingang set before stealing the forklift.