On September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a cult member of Charles Manson's Manson Family, attempted to assassinate United States President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
Fromme wanted to make a statement to people who did not want to stop environmental pollution. Although Fromme stood a little more than an arm's length from Ford that Friday morning and pointed a M1911 pistol at him, her gun failed to fire and no one was injured.
After the assassination attempt, Ford continued to walk to the California state house, where he met with Jerry Brown. For her crime, Fromme spent 34 years in prison and was released on August 14, 2009 – two years after Ford's death.
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.