Manson Follower Attempts to Assassinate President Ford…..
September 5, 1975…..
Charles Manson follower “Squeaky” Fromme attempts to shoot U.S. President Gerald Ford. Fromme was about an arm’s length from Ford on the grounds of the California State Capitol building when she tried to shoot him with a pistol. The gun failed to fire and no one was injured. Fromme apparently didn’t know how to operate the gun. She was quickly apprehended at the scene. She said she wanted to make a statement to people who refused to halt environmental pollution. During her trial, she threw an apple at the prosecuting attorney knocking off his glasses. Fromme spent 34 years in prison and was released in 2009. Ford gave a videotaped testimony at the trial making him the first U.S. President to testify at a criminal trial. Two weeks later, Sara Jane Moore would attempt to assassinate Ford.