By David Martin
As far as assassination plots go, this one never got off the ground… literally.
North Dakota man Gregory Lee Leingang pleaded guilty late last week to a bizarre plot to assassinate President Donald Trump during Trump’s visit to the state in September 2017.
And let’s just say that Leingang is no criminal mastermind.
Trump was visiting the town of Mandan near Bismarck when Leingang reportedly stole a forklift.
His plan was to enter Trump’s motorcade and kill the president by flipping his limousine.
Of course, as numerous media outlets reported, Leingang quickly got the forklift stuck in a gated area and fled on foot.
He was apprehended by police almost immediately and confessed to his scheme.
Leingang’s attorney tried to argue that his client was suffering from mental illness.
And, indeed, it doesn’t seem like the plan was very well considered.
While Leingang’s plot is certainly frightening, it’s unclear whether flipping the presidential limousine, known as “The Beast,” would have made a dent in it.
The custom Cadillac being used in 2017 reportedly weighed as much as 20,000 pounds, had 5-inch bulletproof glass, was specially reinforced, and was equipped to handle just about any attacks.
Including from rogue forklifts.