Even Before the Gunfire. Many Guests Bore the Scars of Political Violence
A shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner highlighted the growing number of political figures and associates who have experienced violence, with several attendees having prior personal connections to such attacks. Among those affected was Erika Kirk, widow of a conservative activist killed months earlier, who was seen fleeing in distress. Representative Steve Scalise, previously wounded in a 2017 congressional shooting, was escorted to safety during the incident. The event underscored how political violence has become a recurring and traumatic element in American public life.
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#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Trump AdministrationliveUpdatesApril 27, 2026, 9:03 a.m. ETShooting at Correspondents’ DinnerGas PricesPowell Investigation DroppedMemecoin EventApproval RatingAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Supported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTEven Before the Gunfire, Many Guests Bore the Scars of Political ViolenceGunfire at a press gala on Saturday underscored the ever growing club of political figures whose lives have been upended by violence.Listen · 7:47 min Share full article185Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, was seen being escorted to a secure room on Saturday. Mr. Scalise was shot at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017, Credit...Salwan Georges for The New York TimesBy Lisa LererApril 27, 2026, 5:04 a.m. ET window.registerInteractive && window.registerInteractive("100000010805361"); !function(){var e="gps_module_impressions",s="gps_suppress_module",t=new URLSearchParams(window.location.search),o="1"===t.get("gps_debug")?function(e,s){console.log("[gps]",e,void 0!==s?s:"")}:function(){};if(o("version",16),(document.documentElement.lang||"").toLowerCase().startsWith("es")&&(document.body.classList.add("gps-lang-es"),o("language: spanish")),"1"===t.get("gps_reset"))try{localStorage.removeItem(e),localStorage.removeItem(s),o("localStorage reset")}catch(e){}if(document.querySelector(".NYTApp"))o("hidden: NYTApp context");else{var a=!1;try{a=!!localStorage.getItem(s)}catch(e){}if(a)o("hidden: suppressed via "+s);else{var r=0;try{r=parseInt(localStorage.getItem(e),10)||0}catch(e){}o("impressions so far",r);try{r+=1,localStorage.setItem(e,String(r)),o("impression recorded",r)}catch(e){}document.body.classList.add("gps-show"),o("module shown")}}}().gps-module{display:none;background-color:var(--tpl-color-background-secondary,#f8f8f8);font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,serif;text-align:center;padding:1rem 16px 16px 16px;max-width:600px;margin:1.25rem 20px;text-wrap:balance}.gps-show .gps-module{display:block}@media (min-width:640px){.gps-module{margin:1.25rem auto;box-sizing:border-box}}.gps-link{text-decoration:none;color:inherit;display:block}.gps-body{display:block;margin:0;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:.9375rem;line-height:1.4;font-weight:500;color:var(--tpl-color-content-primary,#121212)}.gps-cta{display:inline-block;margin-top:6px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:.8125rem;font-weight:700;line-height:130%;border:1px solid var(--tpl-color-stroke-tertiary,#dfdfdf);background-color:var(--tpl-color-background-primary,#fff);color:var(--tpl-color-content-primary,#121212);padding:.375rem 1.125rem;border-radius:2rem}.gps-caret-sep{display:inline-block;width:.25rem}.gps-link:hover .gps-cta{border:1px solid var(--tpl-color-stroke-tertiary,#dfdfdf);background:var(--tpl-color-background-tertiary,#ebebeb)}.NYTApp .gps-module{display:none}.gps-es{display:none}.gps-lang-es .gps-module .gps-es{display:inline}.gps-lang-es .gps-module .gps-en{display:none}See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google !function(){if(document.body.classList.contains("gps-show")){var e="1"===new…
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