RIAC to sell gun that nearly assassinated Gov. George Wallace

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – This weekend Rock Island Auction Company will auction the inconspicuous-looking revolver that was used in the 1972 assassination attempt of Alabama Gov. George Wallace. The three-day auction will take place at their facility in Rock Island, Ill from Dec. 5-7.

The unassuming handgun was wielded by Arthur Bremmer, a man overcome with loneliness and determined to gain himself fame by killing then President Richard Nixon or Gov. Wallace. When Nixon turned-out to be inaccessible, his sights turned to Wallace, literally. During the presidential primaries in 1972, at a campaign stop in Laurel, Md. Bremmer got close enough to Wallace to fire five shots. Two shots struck the governor, one lodging in his spine and paralyzing him for life. Three bystanders were also wounded.

Bremmer served 35 years of his 53-year sentence and has been out on parole since 2007.

The December Auction will also offer a pistol belonging to American icon Buffalo Bill, a presidential appointment signed by Abraham Lincoln, and a sword presented to Revolutionary War hero, the Marquis de Lafayette.

For more information, please visit www.rockislandauction.com or call 1-800-238-8022.