On this day, Sept. 22, in 1975, President Gerald Ford survived the second assassination attempt in 17 days.
Sarah Jane Moore — a native of Charleston, W.Va. and a political radical — aimed a .38-caliber pistol at Ford as he left the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. But her attempt was thwarted by a bystander, Oliver Supple, who grabbed Moore’s arm and pulled her to the ground.
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Moore was able to fire one shot, but the bullet ricocheted of the hotel. Secret Service agents hustled Ford into a waiting vehicle and sped away to safety.
Moore was sentenced to life in prison. In 1979, she escaped from the federal prison in Alderson, W.Va., but was recaptured hours later.
The attempt on president’s life came less than three weeks after Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a Charles Manson disciple, was arrested for pointing a gun at Ford.
Moore was released from prison on parole in 2007. Now 79, she has said she is glad she did not succeed in killing Ford, but she does not regret trying.
— Scott McCabe
