September 1975 was a fever dream for the American presidency. In just 17 days, two different women tried to kill President Gerald Ford in two different California cities. It sounds like the plot of a low-budget political thriller, but it was stone-cold reality. Most people remember that Ford was "the accidental president," the guy who took over after Nixon resigned. But they often forget he was also a walking target who somehow survived a month that would have broken most world leaders.
Honestly, the gerald ford assassination attempts aren't just a footnote in history; they changed how the Secret Service operates and how we view the "safety" of the Commander-in-Chief. If you think the modern security bubble around the President is intense, look back at 1975. Back then, Ford was still diving into crowds to shake hands like he was running for local sheriff.
👉 See also: Donald Trump: Why He Might Be Losing His Race Against Time
Sacramento: The Manson Follower and the Empty Chamber
On September 5, 1975, Ford was in Sacramento, heading to meet Governor Jerry Brown. He was walking through Capitol Park, doing what politicians do—pressing the flesh. Among the crowd was a woman in a bright red robe. Her name was Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because she was a die-hard member of the Manson Family.
She wasn't there for an autograph.
Fromme pulled a Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol from a leg holster. She was barely two feet away. She pointed it right at Ford’s waist. There was a sickening "click." Nothing happened. She hadn't chambered a round. Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf didn't hesitate. He jammed his thumb between the hammer and the firing pin, essentially sacrificing his hand to stop the gun from firing if she tried again. He wrestled her to the ground while Fromme reportedly shouted, "It didn't go off! Can you believe it? It didn't go off!"
👉 See also: Clayton Perry San Antonio: Why the Former Councilman Still Matters
Ford’s reaction was almost weirder than the attempt. He didn't run. He didn't panic. He just went on with his meeting with Jerry Brown. He didn't even mention that someone had just tried to shoot him until the business talk was over. He later said he basically thought, "I’d better get on with my day’s schedule." Talk about Midwestern stoicism.
San Francisco: The FBI Informant and the Reluctant Hero
You’d think after Sacramento, the security would be airtight. Nope. Seventeen days later, on September 22, Ford was leaving the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. This time, the threat was Sara Jane Moore. Unlike Fromme, Moore was a 45-year-old mother of four and a former FBI informant who had become radicalized by left-wing groups.
She was standing about 40 feet away across the street. She fired one shot with a .38 Special revolver.
The bullet missed Ford’s head by about five or six inches. It hit a wall above the doorway he’d just walked through. As she went to fire a second time, a bystander named Oliver Sipple—a former Marine—grabbed her arm. The second shot went wild, ricocheting and hitting a taxi driver in the groin. Thankfully, the driver survived.
The gerald ford assassination attempts in San Francisco brought a tragic irony to light. Oliver Sipple saved the President of the United States, but his life was essentially ruined afterward. Sipple was a closeted gay man. When the media, led by Harvey Milk and columnist Herb Caen, "outed" him to show that a gay man could be a hero, his family disowned him. He spent years in legal battles and struggled with his mental health until his death in 1989. It’s a somber reminder that the fallout of these events often hits the people standing next to the target just as hard.
Why Did They Do It?
The motives behind the gerald ford assassination attempts were as chaotic as the decade itself. Fromme claimed she wanted to bring attention to environmental issues and the plight of Charles Manson. During her trial, she even threw an apple at the prosecutor. She ended up serving 34 years before being paroled in 2009.
Sara Jane Moore’s reasoning was more about sparking a revolution. She felt that the government was corrupt and that killing the President would be the "ultimate protest." She was also paroled in 2007, and she actually passed away recently, on September 24, 2025, at the age of 95. In her later years, she expressed regret, basically saying she was in a "fugue state" at the time.
How History Changed After September 1975
After these two close calls, the Secret Service had enough. They realized the "casual" presidency was over. Ford started wearing a bulletproof trench coat—which was incredibly heavy and uncomfortable—whenever he went out in public. The distance between the President and the crowd began to grow. The "rope line" became a fortress.
Fast Facts About the Attempts:
- The Weapons: Both were handguns—a Colt .45 and a .38 Special.
- The Locations: Both happened in California (Sacramento and San Francisco).
- The Gender: Fromme and Moore remain the only two women to ever attempt to assassinate a U.S. President.
- The Outcome: Ford was never physically harmed in either incident, though the psychological toll on the nation was significant.
Insights for History Buffs
If you're looking to understand the 1970s, you have to look at these moments. They weren't just random acts of violence; they were symptoms of a country that was deeply fractured. We were reeling from Vietnam, Watergate, and the Manson murders.
💡 You might also like: Sidney Simmons Rankin County Case: What Really Happened Behind Closed Doors
To dig deeper into the gerald ford assassination attempts, you should look into the documentary Suburban Fury (2024), which features interviews with Sara Jane Moore. It provides a chilling look into the mind of someone who thought she was doing the right thing by pulling a trigger. Also, visiting the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids is a must—they actually have the gun used by Squeaky Fromme on display. It’s a sobering sight to see how close the 38th President came to an early grave.
Check out local historical archives or the National Archives digital collections for the original Secret Service reports from that month. Reading the raw transcripts of the interrogations gives you a sense of the confusion and tension that standard history books often smooth over.