A North Dakota man admitted he schemed to attempt an assassination on President Donald Trump, according to court papers.
Gregory Lee Leingang, 42, pleaded guilty (pdf) in federal court on Nov. 30 to one count of attempting to enter or remain in a restricted building and on grounds while using a dangerous weapon.
The weapon of choice, according to the a agreement, was a forklift, which he also pleaded guilty to stealing.
Leingang had also been charged with one count of attempting to damage government property, but that charge was dropped in the plea deal reported the Bismarck Tribune.
U.S. Assistant State’s Attorney Brandi Sasse Russell said Leingang knew Trump was set to give a speech on tax reform at the Andeavor Mandan Refinery in Bismarck, North Dakota on Sept. 6, 2017.
Prior to Trump’s arrival, he stole a forklift in Mandan and entered the motorcade route.
“The intent was to basically try to get to the limo, flip the limo and get to the president,” Russell said. “He wanted to kill the president.”
But the plan failed after the forklift got stuck in a gated area. Leingang fled but was apprehended. He later admitted to the plan.
Leingang’s public defender argued he was suffering “a serious psychiatric crisis” during the incident. Leingang told U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland that he suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder.
That morning, Leingang set two fires. One was at the Bismarck Municipal Ballpark maintenance shop and another was at the state parole and probation office.
Per a guilty plea entered for those crimes, Leingang was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. Another five years was added on from the guilty plea he entered for stealing the forklift, and yet another five years for a guilty plea in a separate burglary case. A sentencing hearing for the building plea was scheduled for Feb. 15.
Fugitive Who Threatened Trump Captured
Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania man who threatened to kill Trump was captured following a dayslong manhunt.
“I promise I’ll put a bullet in your head as soon as I put one in the head of President Donald J. Trump,” Shawn Christy, 27, allegedly wrote on Facebook in a threat against a district attorney.
Christy fled to Ohio and was captured by U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement.
“We have been combing the area for four days, and we finally zeroed in on an area where we thought he was hiding,” Deputy U.S. Marshal Anne Murphy of the Northern District of Ohio said in a press conference.
Dozens of law enforcement officers participated in the meticulous search.
“It was a slow, methodical search. It was slow and took a long time. Finally there he is,” Murphy said. “We searched through woods, fields, campsites. The teams eventually located him hiding in a ravine.”
Christy had a gun and a large knife on him when he was captured.