View source for Attempted assassination of Gerald Ford in Sacramento

{{Short description|1975 assassination attempt}}
{{For|the attempted assassination of Ford by Sara Jane Moore three weeks later|Attempted assassination of Gerald Ford in San Francisco}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
|partof =
|image= Ford rushed from Sacramento assassination attempt image A6320-23A.jpg
|image_size= 300
|alt =
|caption= Ford being rushed by [[United States Secret Service|U.S. Secret Service]] from the site of the 1975 attempt on his life in [[Sacramento, California]]
|map=
|map_size=
|map_alt =
|map_caption=
|location= [[California State Capitol Museum#Capitol Park|Capitol Park]]<br/>[[Sacramento, California]]
|coordinates= {{coord|38|34|37|N|121|29|31|W|region:US-CA_type:event|display=inline,title}}
|target=[[Gerald Ford]]
|date= {{Start date|1975|09|05}}
|time= ≈10:04&nbsp;am
|timezone= [[Pacific Time Zone|PDT]]
|type= [[List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots|Assassination attempt]]
|fatalities= 0
|injuries= 0
|perpetrator =[[Squeaky Fromme]]
|weapons=[[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]] [[M1911 pistol|M1911]] [[.45 ACP|.45 cal.]] semi-automatic pistol
|numpart= 1
|motive= To set an example to those refusing to halt [[Pollution|environmental pollution]] and its effects on Air, Trees, Water, and Animals ([[ATWA]])
}}

On September{{spaces}}5, 1975, [[Squeaky Fromme|Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme]], a member of the [[Manson Family]] cult, attempted to assassinate United States president [[Gerald Ford]] in [[Sacramento]], California. Fromme, who was standing a little more than an arm's length from Ford, pointed a [[M1911]] pistol at him in the [[California State Capitol Museum#Capitol Park|public grounds of the California State Capitol]] building and without chambering a round in the gun, unsuccessfully attempted to fire.

After the assassination attempt, Ford continued to walk to the California state house, where he met with Governor [[Jerry Brown]].
For her crime, Fromme spent 34 years in prison and was released on August{{spaces}}14, {{nowrap|2009{{mdash}}}}two years and seven months after Ford's death.<!-- This contradicts later section that says 8 months --> The [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum]] in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], later received the M1911 pistol used in the assassination attempt as a gift, and the gun was put on display.

==History==
[[File:Squeaky Fromme HS Yearbook.jpeg|thumb|left|Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in 1965.]]
[[Squeaky Fromme|Lynette Fromme]], who was nicknamed "Squeaky" by [[George Spahn]],<ref>{{cite book|title=My Life with Charles Manson|last1=Watkins|first1=Paul|publisher=Bantam Books|last2=Soledad|first2=Guillermo|year=1979|isbn=978-0553127881|page=40}}</ref> was a follower of cultist [[Charles Manson]], leader of the group convicted of murdering actress [[Sharon Tate]] and eight others in Los Angeles, California, in 1969.<ref name="Naughton">{{cite news|page=1 |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |date=September 6, 1975|title=Ford Safe As Guard Seizes A Gun Woman Pointed at Him On Coast; Follower Of Manson Is Charged Two Feet Away A Wan President Late Urges Fight On Crime in Sacramento Talk Assassination Attempt Laid To Manson Backer|first=James M. |last=Naughton |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/06/archives/front-page-1-no-title-ford-safe-as-guard-seizes-a-gun-woman-pointed.html}}</ref> Fromme was one of the earliest followers of Manson, and had a reputation as being one of the most devoted.<ref>{{cite news|page=A10 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=December 24, 1987|title='Squeaky' Fromme Sought After an Apparent Escape |first= John T. |last=McQuiston|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/24/us/squeaky-fromme-sought-after-an-apparent-escape.html}}</ref> Through the years, Fromme assumed a leadership role in keeping Manson cult members in communication with each other after most of them had been imprisoned.<ref>{{cite news|page=1A |newspaper= [[San Jose Mercury News]] |date=December 24, 1987|title=Squeaky Fromme Escapes |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://apnews.com/1e5e5c15acfb01de03b79a767e534d97}}</ref>

In April 1971, Fromme served 90&nbsp;days in jail for attempting to feed a hamburger laced with the psychedelic drug [[LSD]] to [[Barbara Hoyt]], a witness to the Tate murder, to keep Hoyt from testifying in the murder trial.<ref name="Naughton"/> Fromme lived at 1725 P Street in Sacramento ({{Coord|38.571142|-121.485807|format=dms|display=inline}}) in an [[attic]] [[apartment]] with [[Sandra Good]], a close friend who also was a long-time member of the Manson Family.<ref name="Fights">{{cite news|work= Associated Press News |date=March 15, 1985|title=Manson Family Member Fights 'Good Time' Release |first= Strat |last= Douthat|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://apnews.com/8cca6c73bc3b22066ed6394eb0f7d0f1}}</ref><ref name="Testimony">{{cite news|last=Wilson|first=Wayne|date=April 7, 1987|title=Ford Testimony Tape in Fromme Trial Freed|page=B1|newspaper=[[Sacramento Bee]]|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22FORD%20TESTIMONY%20TAPE%20IN%20FROMME%20TRIAL%20FREED%22)%20AND%20date(1987)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1987&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22FORD%20TESTIMONY%20TAPE%20IN%20FROMME%20TRIAL%20FREED%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204072020/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22FORD%20TESTIMONY%20TAPE%20IN%20FROMME%20TRIAL%20FREED%22)%20AND%20date(1987)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1987&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22FORD%20TESTIMONY%20TAPE%20IN%20FROMME%20TRIAL%20FREED%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|archive-date=2016-02-04}}</ref><ref name="Unofficial">{{cite news|last=Reid|first=Dixie|date=May 21, 1989|title=The Unofficial Sacramento Tour You Won't Find Any Engraved Plaques at These Offbeat Points of Interest|page=16|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22THE%20UNOFFICIAL%20SACRAMENTO%20TOUR%22)%20AND%20date(1989)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1989&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22THE%20UNOFFICIAL%20SACRAMENTO%20TOUR%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|url-status=dead|access-date=November 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204072020/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22THE%20UNOFFICIAL%20SACRAMENTO%20TOUR%22)%20AND%20date(1989)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1989&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22THE%20UNOFFICIAL%20SACRAMENTO%20TOUR%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|archive-date=2016-02-04}}</ref> Four years later in 1975, Fromme wanted to confront President Ford on the [[environmental pollution]] his campaign brought forth and its effects on [[ATWA]] (air, trees, water, animals).<ref name="Fights"/><ref name="surprise">{{cite news|page=14 |newspaper= [[Star-News]] |location= Wilmington, NC |date=November 11, 1975|title=Fromme 'surprise' told |agency=UPI|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19751111&id=nLgsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4gkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3576,2154925}}</ref>

===Events leading towards the assassination attempt===
In July 1975, California's relatively new governor, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Jerry Brown]], refused to commit to speak at the 49th annual Sacramento "Host Breakfast", an annual gathering of wealthy California business leaders to be held in the Sacramento Convention Center on the morning of September 5, 1975.<ref name="feud">{{cite news |work= [[Contra Costa Times|East Bay Times]] |date= December 29, 2006 |title= Ford visit sparked by a feud |first= Dan |last= Walters |access-date= November 27, 2012 |url= http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/12/29/ford-visit-sparked-by-a-feud/ }}</ref> To teach Brown a political lesson, for what he would describe more than 30&nbsp;years later as a "[[wiktionary:dilatory|dilatory]] response" to the invitation,<ref>{{cite news |newspaper= Sacramento Bee |date= June 2, 2011 |title= Brown's gaffe recalls 1975 Ford assassination attempt |access-date= November 27, 2012 |url= http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/06/jerry-brown-gerald-ford-assassination.html |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121125073402/http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/06/jerry-brown-gerald-ford-assassination.html |archive-date= November 25, 2012 }}</ref> the politically powerful group invited U.S. President Ford, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], to make the morning’s speech instead.<ref name="feud"/> Ford saw California's [[electoral votes]] as critical to his success in the [[1976 United States presidential election]] and accepted the invitation to speak at the Host Breakfast.<ref>{{cite news|page=A3 |newspaper= Sacramento Bee |date=September 5, 2000|title=Political spat made history |first=Dan|last= Walters }}</ref>

In early August 1975, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] had released a study entitled ''A [[Spectroscopy|Spectroscopic]] Study of [[Pollution in California|California Smog]]'',<ref>{{cite journal |publisher= [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] |date=February 1975|title=A Spectroscopic Study of California Smog |first= Philip L.|last= Hanst|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=http://nepis.epa.gov/Adobe/PDF/20015UR5.PDF }}</ref> showing that [[smog]] was widespread in rural areas.<ref name="Smog">{{cite news |page= 29|work= The New York Times |date=August 8, 1975 |title=Smog Widespread in Rural Areas, Too, A U.S. Study Finds |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/08/archives/smog-widespread-in-rural-areas-too-a-us-study-finds.html}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' article also noted how President Ford had just asked the [[United States Congress]] to relax provisions of the [[Clean Air Act (United States)#Introduction|1963 Clean Air Act]] beyond the [[Clean Air Act (United States)#Clean Air Act of 1970|1970 Clean Air Act]] amendments and provided details on Ford's upcoming September trip to California.<ref name="Smog"/> After learning of Ford's upcoming visit, ex-convict Thomas Elbert was arrested on August 18 in response to Elbert phoning the [[United States Secret Service]] and threatening to kill Ford when he visited Sacramento.<ref>{{cite news|page= 32|newspaper= The New York Times |date=August 18, 1975|title= Man Held in Ford Threat|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/18/archives/man-held-in-ford-threat.html}}</ref>

[[File:United States presidential daily diary, Ford, 19750905 partial.png|thumb|left|250px|Ford's presidential daily diary for September 5, 1975]]
At about the same time, Fromme came to believe that [[Sequoia sempervirens|California's giant coastal redwoods]], the tallest trees in the world, were in danger of falling because of [[environmental pollution|automobile smog]] reaching their rural location.<ref name="First">{{cite video|year=2012 |title=First Ford Assassination Attempt |publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]] |access-date=November 27, 2012 |url=http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/gerald-r-ford/videos/first-ford-assassination-attempt }}</ref> Feeling personally responsible for the fate of the redwoods, Fromme traveled to San Francisco to meet with a San Francisco government official to save the trees from pollution.<ref name="First"/> After returning from San Francisco, Fromme watched a news report from her P Street apartment and learned some details of Ford's plans to visit Sacramento.<ref name="First"/> The hotel Ford would be staying at, the [[Senator Hotel]], was located a little more than {{convert|1/2|mi|m|spell=in}}—about fifteen minutes walking distance—from Fromme's Sacramento apartment.<ref name="Unofficial"/><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Sacramento Bee |date=October 7, 2012 |title=Now let's restore the Senator Hotel to its past glories |first=Rob |last=Turner |access-date=November 24, 2012 |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/07/4886174/now-lets-restore-the-senator-hotel.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113172219/http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/07/4886174/now-lets-restore-the-senator-hotel.html |archive-date=November 13, 2012 }}</ref> At this point, Fromme decided to bring attention to the trees by putting fear into the government through killing its symbol, President Ford.<ref name="First"/> Fromme said that her decision was rooted in her desire "to get life. Not just my life but clean air, healthy water, and respect for creatures and creation.”<ref name=Bravin>''Squeaky – The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme'' by Jess Bravin (St. Martins Press, 1997; {{ISBN|0312156634}})</ref>

===Weapon===
The [[M1911 pistol]], produced 64&nbsp;years earlier in 1911 by [[Colt Firearms]],<ref name="Nonplussed">{{cite news|newspaper= The New York Times |date=September 8, 1975|title= Ford Nonplussed On Pistol Episode; Didn't Have Time to React, He Says at Rockefellers' |first= Wallace|last= Turner}}</ref> was manufactured the same year that this model pistol became the standard-issue [[Sidearm (weapon)|side arm]] for the [[Military of the United States|United States armed forces]].<ref>Ness, Mark ''[[American Rifleman]]'' June 1983 p. 58</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Canfield|first=Bruce|date=October 2016|title=1916: Guns On The Border|magazine=American Rifleman|publisher=National Rifle Association}}</ref> After its manufacture in 1911, Fromme's pistol was sent to [[Rock Island Arsenal]] in [[Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois|Illinois]]<ref name="Sugar Daddy">{{cite news|newspaper= [[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 9, 1975|title=Fromme's "Sugar Daddy"; Friend, 66, Gave Gun to Manson Girl |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://newspaperarchive.com/redlands-daily-facts/1975-09-09/page-13/}}. Note: This "Sugar Daddy" reference says Fromme's pistol was manufactured in 1914.</ref> and has a serial number of 94854.<ref name=pistol>{{cite news|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/ArtifactCollectionSamples/Catagories/LifeCareer/Handgun.html|title=Semi-Automatic Pistol|work=[[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library]]|access-date=February 4, 2018}}</ref> The pistol was used in the U.S. Army and later sold as [[Military surplus|government surplus]] in 1913.<ref name="Nonplussed"/> Although the pistol used [[45 ACP]] ammunition, at the time of the assassination attempt the M1911 was not considered a common crime gun because "it's rather large, and not easily concealed."<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/>

Harold E. "Zeke"/"Manny" Boro,<ref name="returns"/> born 1909, was a retired federal government engineering [[draftsman]] who, at ages 65 to 66, hung around the Manson family and supplied them with money as a "[[Wiktionary:sugar daddy|sugar daddy]]".<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/> Boro met Fromme in early 1974 while in a Sacramento park.<ref>{{cite news|page=3 |newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date=November 11, 1975|title=I didn't teach her how to shoot|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times%201975%20Nov%201975%20Grayscale/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times%201975%20Nov%201975%20Grayscale%20-%200260.pdf }}</ref> Fromme would visit Boro at his apartment in Sacramento.<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/> In return for her friendship, Boro loaned his [[Cadillac]] to Fromme and later bought a red [[Volkswagen Beetle#Super Beetle and final evolution|1973 Volkswagen]] for her after she wrecked his Cadillac.<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/> On July 12, 1975, Boro moved from Sacramento to [[Jackson, California]], at the end of Laughton Lane.<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/> While at his apartment in Jackson, Fromme asked Boro for a gun. Fromme told Boro that she needed one in her apartment house where she lived, with two roommates, for protection from Manson's enemies.<ref name="surprise"/><ref name="Sugar Daddy"/> Boro had the pistol along with a half a box of ammunition, containing 25&nbsp;rounds, and showed Fromme how to pull the hammer back and fire the pistol.<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/> Boro also had a pistol catalog in his apartment and allowed Fromme to look through it to select a different pistol for Boro to buy for Fromme.<ref name="Barred"/> After that, Fromme walked out with the M1911, ammunition, and magazine, despite Boro's protest that she not take the pistol and other items.<ref name="Sugar Daddy"/><ref>{{cite news|newspaper= The New York Times |date=September 10, 1975|title=Gun Owner Identified|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/10/archives/gun-owner-identified.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|page=1 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=September 7, 1975|title=Gun Inquiry Finds No Plot Evidence in Threat To Ford; Prosecutor Says Pistol Was Owned by Man Who Knew That Woman Had It; Weapon Test Planned; Manson Follower Is Held in Strict Security Move to Indict Due Wednesday No Plot Link Found in Threat to Ford |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/07/archives/gun-inquiry-finds-no-plot-evidence-in-threat-to-ford-prosecutor.html}}</ref>

===Ford's activities the day before the assassination attempt===
On September 4, 1975, the day before Fromme's assassination attempt in Sacramento, Ford was in [[Washington D.C.]]<ref name="September 4 Diary">{{cite web |publisher= Executive Office of the President of the United States |date= September 4, 1975 | title= Daily Diary of President Gerald R. Ford: September 4, 1975 |id= President's Daily Diary Collection (Box 77) at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library | pages= 28 | url= http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0036/pdd750904.pdf | access-date= November 27, 2012}}</ref> In the morning, he met with [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Henry Kissinger]] – [[:File:Ford, Kissinger - September 4, 1975(Gerald Ford Library)(1553216).pdf|a meeting]] that still was under national security restriction as of 2012.<ref>{{cite web | author= GG | publication-date= June 15, 2004 | title= September 4, 1975 Ford, Kissinger Memorandum of Conversation, Presidential Libraries Withdrawal Sheet | work= National Security Adviser's Memoranda of Conversation Collection at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |id= Withdrawal ID 018271 | publisher= [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library]] | page= 1 | url= http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Ford%2C_Kissinger_-_September_4%2C_1975%28Gerald_Ford_Library%29%281553216%29.pdf | access-date= November 27, 2012}}</ref> After the meeting, Ford flew the "[[VC-137C SAM 27000|Spirit of '76]]" from [[Andrews AFB|Andrews Air Force Base]] to [[Boeing Field]] in [[Seattle, Washington]], to attend a Republican Party fund raising convention, tour the [[Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center]], and attend a conference on domestic and economic affairs.<ref name="September 4 Diary"/> At about 5:00&nbsp;pm, Ford then flew to [[Portland, Oregon]], where he attended a Republican fundraising event, attended the Portland Youth Bicentennial Rally with about 13,000&nbsp;children, and received an Oregon blanket gift.<ref name="September 4 Diary"/> At 9:30&nbsp;pm, Ford flew to [[McClellan Air Force Base]] in [[Sacramento, California]], and went to his suite at 11:30&nbsp;pm at the Senator Hotel.<ref name="September 4 Diary"/>

===Assassination attempt===
[[File:Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento map.png|thumb|left|300px|Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento location map]]

On the morning of September 5, 1975, Fromme, dressed completely in red, "for the animals and earth colors", placed the Colt .45 pistol into a leg holster strapped to her left leg,<ref name="returns">{{cite news|page=1 |newspaper= [[Lodi News-Sentinel]] |date=September 11, 1975|title=Grand jury returns Fromme indictment |agency=UPI |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19750911&id=87UzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QjIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5081,937847}}</ref> and made her way from her apartment to the California state capitol grounds.<ref name="Fights"/><ref name="Testimony"/><ref name="Unofficial"/> At 9:26&nbsp;am, Ford had returned to the Senator Hotel at 1121 L Street ({{Coord|38.577574|-121.492076|format=dms|display=inline}}) from his two-hour speaking engagement at the Host Breakfast.<ref name="September 5 Diary">{{cite web |publisher= Executive Office of the President of the United States |date= September 5, 1975 | title= Daily Diary of President Gerald R. Ford: September 5, 1975 | id= President's Daily Diary Collection (Box 77) at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library | pages= 12 | url= http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0036/pdd750905.pdf | access-date= November 27, 2012}}</ref> From his suite at the Senator Hotel, Ford crossed L Street, also known as [[Route of the Lincoln Highway#California|Lincoln Highway]], at 10:02&nbsp;am into [[California State Capitol Museum#Capitol Park|Capitol Park]] and began shaking hands with people who had gathered in a crowd on the park's pathway.<ref name="Testimony"/><ref name="September 5 Diary"/><ref name="Audiotapes">{{cite news|page=58 |publisher= [[White House Communications Agency]] |date=April 18, 2012|title=White House Communications Agency Audiotapes: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Speeches, Remarks, and News Conferences, 1947–77 |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/findingaid/av/WHCA_Presidential_Speech.pdf#xml=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=b9463d8&DocId=36319&Index=%2a277b6258fdc71cf10b4a4b2322b20faf&HitCount=2&hits=6e81+6e86+&SearchForm=F%3a%5cFord%5fPublic%5fWeb%5cford%5ffull%5fsearch%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf}}</ref> Ford was making his way toward an entrance of the state capitol building.<ref name="Audiotapes"/>

Ford had moved about {{convert|150|ft|m|-1}} from Lincoln Street along a Capitol Park paved walkway, saw "a woman in a brightly colored dress", and stopped approximately halfway to the state Capitol.<ref name="Testimony"/><ref name="feud"/><ref name="Recalling">{{cite news|last=Wilson|first=Wayne|date=April 8, 1987|title=Ford Recalling Assassination Try Is Hot Video|page=B2|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22FORD%20RECALLING%20ASSASSINATION%20TRY%20IS%20HOT%20VIDEO%22)%20AND%20date(1987)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1987&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22FORD%20RECALLING%20ASSASSINATION%20TRY%20IS%20HOT%20VIDEO%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116101220/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22FORD%20RECALLING%20ASSASSINATION%20TRY%20IS%20HOT%20VIDEO%22)%20AND%20date(1987)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1987&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22FORD%20RECALLING%20ASSASSINATION%20TRY%20IS%20HOT%20VIDEO%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|archive-date=2014-01-16}}</ref> People on either side of Ford wanted to shake hands with him and Ford assumed that the woman in red wanted to shake hands or talk.<ref name="Testimony"/> Twenty-six-year-old Fromme was positioned {{convert|2|ft|cm|-1|spell=in}} from Ford, behind the first row of the crowd, and reached into her robe, drawing the Colt .45 pistol from her leg holster.<ref name="Testimony"/><ref name="returns"/><ref name="Recalling"/><ref name="Earlier">{{cite news|newspaper= [[The Boston Globe]] |date=March 31, 1981|title=The Earlier Shootings |first=Jerry|last= Ackerma }}</ref> Fromme raised her right arm towards Ford, through the front row of people, and pointed the gun at a height between Ford's knees and his waist.<ref name="Naughton"/><ref name="Recalling"/><ref>{{cite news|page=27 |newspaper= [[Times Daily]] |location= Florence, AL |date=June 22, 1982|title=Hinckley first in 80 years to stand trial |agency=UPI |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19820622&id=dRksAAAAIBAJ&sjid=88gEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1295,4925711}}</ref> From Ford's perspective, he noted, "... as I stopped, I saw a hand come through the crowd in the first row, and that was the first active gesture that I saw, but in the hand there was a gun."<ref name="Testimony"/>

[[File:CA Capitol East Entrance.jpg|thumb|The East Entrance of the California State Capitol looking north with the Hotel Senator in the background.]]

The pistol contained ammunition stored in a detachable [[Magazine (firearms)|magazine]] in the pistol's grip, but the gun did not include a round in the gun's [[Chamber (firearms)|chamber]].<ref name="Naughton"/> At the time, Fromme was not aware that she needed to pull back the [[Pistol slide|gun slide]] to insert a cartridge into the pistol's chamber.<ref name="Barred">{{cite news|page=1 |newspaper= [[The News and Courier]] |location= Charleston, SC |date=November 11, 1975|title=Fromme Barred Again From Trial |agency= AP}}</ref> Five years later in 1980, from [[Federal Prison Camp, Alderson]], Fromme claimed that she purposely ejected the top round from the pistol's magazine onto the floor of her P Street apartment, because she "was not determined to kill the guy."<ref name="Testimony"/>

[[File:Pistol used by "Squeaky" Fromme.JPG|thumb|right|Fromme's pistol, used in the September 5, 1975, Ford assassination attempt, on display at the [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum|Ford Presidential Museum]]]]

While Fromme pointed the gun at Ford, several people heard a "metallic click" sound.<ref name="Testimony"/> As she shouted, "It wouldn't go off,"<ref name="surprise"/> Secret Service agent [[Larry Buendorf]] grabbed the gun, forced it from Fromme's hand, and brought her to the ground.<ref name="Naughton"/> On the ground, Fromme said, "it didn't go off. Can you believe it? It didn't go off."<ref name="surprise"/> One of the Secret Service agents shouted "get down, let's go."<ref name="feud"/> Secret Service agents then half-dragged Ford away from Fromme towards the east entrance of the Capitol,<ref name="feud"/> until Ford yelled, "Put me down! Put me down!"<ref>{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=Bill|date=June 16, 1986|title=His Assignment: Guard The President Ex-Secret Service Agent Helped Protect 5 Chief Executives|page=B12|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22Put%20me%20down!%20Put%20me%20down!%22)%20AND%20date(1986)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1986&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Put%20me%20down!%20Put%20me%20down!%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225035710/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(%22Put%20me%20down!%20Put%20me%20down!%22)%20AND%20date(1986)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1986&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Put%20me%20down!%20Put%20me%20down!%22)&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no|archive-date=2014-12-25}}</ref> Ford continued his walk to the California state house, entered, and then met with California governor Jerry Brown at 10:06&nbsp;am for 30&nbsp;minutes without mentioning the assassination attempt until they were through talking business.<ref name="Earlier"/> Ford, who later indicated that he was not scared,<ref name="Testimony"/> concluded, "I thought I'd better get on with my day's schedule."<ref name="September 5 Diary"/><ref name="Earlier"/>

===Aftermath===
Following the attempt, the Secret Service would not allow reporters or photographers near the president during his next trip to California.<ref name=sjm/> On September 20, 1975, [[United States federal judge]] [[Thomas J. MacBride]] set November 4, 1975, for the start of the trial against Fromme for attempting to assassinate a U.S. president.<ref>{{cite news|page=12 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=September 20, 1975|title= Nov. 4 Trial Is Set For Miss Fromme; She Pleads Not Guilty to Charge in Ford Case|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/20/archives/nov-4-trial-is-set-for-miss-fromme-she-pleads-not-guilty-to-charge.html}}</ref> Three days before the trial began, President Ford gave a videotape testimony from the [[White House]] as a defense witness in the trial of Fromme.<ref name="Testimony2">{{cite news|page=22 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=November 2, 1975|title= Ford's Testimony Is Recorded for Fromme Trial|access-date=November 27, 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/11/02/archives/fords-testimony-is-recorded-for-fromme-trial.html}}</ref> The testimony was the first time a U.S. president testified at a criminal trial.<ref name="Testimony"/>

On November 4, the prosecutors were ready to present about 1,000 items of evidence seized from Fromme's car and apartment just after the assassination attempt, including .45-caliber ammunition in the box she took from Boro and the book, ''The Modern Handgun''.<ref name="Judge">{{cite news|date=October 22, 1975|title=Judge Tells Ford to Give Fromme Trial Deposition|page=1|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D15F8395A1A7493C0AB178BD95F418785F9|url-status=dead|access-date=November 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204000000/https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D15F8395A1A7493C0AB178BD95F418785F9|archive-date=2016-02-04}} [https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/04/president-ford-dodges-assassination-attempt-sept-5-1975-242267 Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hertzberg|first=Robert Edward |year=1966|isbn=0668040742|pages=111 |title=The Modern Handgun|location= New York |publisher=Arco |oclc=1209891}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Andrew Glass|title=President Ford dodges assassination attempt, Sept. 5, 1975|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/04/president-ford-dodges-assassination-attempt-sept-5-1975-242267|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Politico|date=4 September 2017 |language=en}}</ref> During the trial, Fromme refused to cooperate, going so far as to throw an apple at prosecuting [[U.S. attorney]] Dwayne Keyes after he urged that Fromme's punishment be severe because she had shown herself to be "full of hate and violence."<ref name="Apple">{{cite news|page=1 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=December 18, 1975|title= Doubted by Judge She Flings Apple at Prosecutor; Life Term Given To Miss Fromme|access-date=November 27, 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/18/archives/miss-fromme-gets-life-in-ford-attack-rehabilitation-doubted-by.html}}</ref>

[[File:Photograph of Jack and Steve Ford Meeting Their Parents, President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford on the South... - NARA - 186818.tif|thumb|left|Ford being greeted by his family at the White House in Washington D.C., about ten hours after the assassination attempt in California]]

The trial ended on November 19, 1975, with Fromme being convicted of attempting to assassinate President Ford.<ref name="Apple"/> Fromme received a [[Life imprisonment#United States|life sentence]].<ref name="Apple"/> During her imprisonment, Fromme escaped from prison and, as a result, received extra time to her sentence after her capture two days later, on December 26, 1987.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper= [[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=August 6, 2009|title=Squeaky Fromme soon out of prison in Ford case |first1= Demian |last1= Bulwa |first2= John |last2= Koopman|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Squeaky-Fromme-soon-out-of-prison-in-Ford-case-3290736.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|page= 12|newspaper= [[Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=December 27, 1987|title= Manson Woman Held|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19871227&id=bXVWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=weQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3584,5659390}}</ref>

[[Betty Ford]] revealed in a 2004 interview on ''[[Larry King Live]]'' that following the attempt on her husband's life by Fromme, each time he left the White House she would pray for his safety on one of the White House's balconies.<ref name=odyssey>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-attempted-assassins-snap-htmlstory.html|title=Hinckley, Moore and Fromme all tried to kill a president. And soon all three will be free|last=Fernandez|first=Alexia|date=July 29, 2016|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=February 12, 2018}}</ref> The Sacramento assassination attempt was the first assassination attempt against Ford during his presidency.<ref name=sjm>{{cite news|page=A1 |newspaper= San Francisco Chronicle |date=January 1, 2008 |title=Sara Jane Moore, who tried to kill Ford in '75, freed on parole |first=Michael|last= Taylor |access-date=December 4, 2012|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sara-Jane-Moore-who-tried-to-kill-Ford-in-75-3232286.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|page=1 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=September 23, 1975|title=Ford Won't Stop Seeing The Public; Says at the White House He Will Not 'Capitulate' to Would-Be Killers|access-date=December 4, 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/23/archives/ford-wont-stop-seeing-the-public-says-at-the-white-house-he-will.html}}</ref> On September 22, 1975, 17&nbsp;days after Fromme attempted to kill Ford in Sacramento, [[Sara Jane Moore]], a political radical<ref name=sjm/> [[Gerald Ford assassination attempt in San Francisco|attempted to kill Ford in San Francisco]]. This second assassination attempt also failed and, two days later, California governor Jerry Brown responded to both assassination attempts on Ford's life in California by signing into law [[Gun laws in California|bills imposing mandatory sentences]] for persons convicted of using guns in committing serious crimes and requiring purchasers of guns to wait 15&nbsp;days for delivery.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper= The New York Times |title=Gov. Brown Signs Bills Tightening 2 Gun Laws |date=24 September 1975 |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/24/archives/gov-brown-signs-bills-tightening-2-gun-laws.html}}</ref> Ford went on to complete his 1974–77 presidency without further assassination attempts.<ref>{{cite news|page=A6 |newspaper= The New York Times |date=March 31, 1981|title=Violence And Presidents, From Jackson To Reagan |first=David|last= Bird |access-date=November 27, 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/31/us/violence-and-presidents-from-jackson-to-reagan.html?scp=16&sq=%22Leon+Czolgosz%22&st=nyt}}</ref>

In 1981, the [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum]] was dedicated in Ford's hometown of [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]].<ref name="Died">{{cite news|page= 4|newspaper= [[New York Daily News]] |date=December 27, 2006|title=38th President Is Dead at 93. Successor To Nixon Worked To Heal The U.S. After Watergate |first=Thomas M.|last= DeFrank }}</ref> On August 23, 1989, the Office of the [[United States Attorney]] in Sacramento donated Fromme's pistol to the museum.<ref name=pistol/><ref>{{cite news|agency= [[Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service]] |date=October 31, 1994|title=White House considering extra security measures after shooting |first=Frank|last= Greve|quote=On Sept. 5 in Sacramento, assailant Lynette ''Squeaky'' Fromme's pistol jammed|access-date=November 27, 2012|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15879589.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204072021/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15879589.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2016}}</ref> Ford died of natural causes on December 26, 2006.<ref name="Died"/>

Fromme was released from prison on August 14, 2009, two&nbsp;years and eight&nbsp;months after Ford's death. She moved to [[Marcy, New York]], to live in a house that "looks like an old metal [[Quonset hut]] from the [[World War II]] era" with Robert Valdner, another convict, who had killed his brother-in-law and was released from prison in 1992.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper= [[The Post-Standard]] |location= Syracuse, NY |date=September 15, 2009|title=Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme plans to live in Oneida County |first=Robert A.|last= Baker |access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/wouldbe_ford_assassin_choses_o.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work= [[Inside Edition]] |date=September 14, 2010|title= Inside Edition Finds Squeaky Fromme|access-date=November 27, 2012 | url=http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/1204-inside-edition-finds-squeaky-fromme}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
Ford rushed from Sacramento assassination attempt image A6320-24A.jpg|Ford rushed from assassination attempt (10:05&nbsp;am PDT)
Ford at McClellan 5 Sept 1975 A6311-09.jpg|Ford at McClellan Air Force Base waiting to leave Sacramento for the White House (3:10&nbsp;pm PDT)
Ford arrives at White House 5 Sept 1975.jpg|Ford arrives at the [[White House]] on September 5, 1975, around 10:50&nbsp;pm (around 7:50&nbsp;pm PDT)
Ford family watches Sacramento assassination attempt news coverage image A6332-04.jpg|Ford family watches news coverage of the assassination attempt at 11:00 pm (8:00 pm PDT) on the White House's second floor
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento}}
* [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum]] [http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/assassinations.asp photo essay] of Ford September 1975 assassination attempts
* {{YouTube|id=SHFL6RbUuDI|title=Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme aims gun at President Ford}}

{{Presidency of Gerald Ford}}
{{US Presidential Assassinations}}
{{Manson Family}}
{{Portal bar|1970s|California|Law|Politics|United States}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford assassination attempt}}
[[Category:1975 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:1975 in American politics]]
[[Category:1975 in California]]
[[Category:20th century in Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:Attempted assassinations of presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:1970s crimes in California]]
[[Category:Eco-terrorism]]
[[Category:History of women in California]]
[[Category:Manson Family]]
[[Category:Presidency of Gerald Ford]]
[[Category:September 1975 events in the United States]]
[[Category:Women and death]]
[[Category:Political history of California]]
[[Category:Crime in Sacramento, California]]