Assassination Attempt On President Ford
On the morning of September 5, 1975, Fromme went to Sacramento's Capitol Park (reportedly to plead with President Gerald Ford about the plight of the California redwoods) dressed in a nun-like red robe and armed with a Colt M1911 .45 semi-automatic pistol that she pointed at Ford. The pistol's magazine was loaded with four rounds, but there was no bullet in the firing chamber. She was immediately restrained by Larry Buendorf, a Secret Service agent. While being further restrained and handcuffed, Fromme managed to say a few sentences to the on-scene cameras, emphasizing that the gun "didn't go off". Her 1975 arrest as shown by her sitting in a U.S. Marshal's vehicle as she waits to be brought jail in 1975 is an image that continues to get frequent use. In 1980, Fromme told The Sacramento Bee that she had deliberately ejected the cartridge in her weapon's chamber before leaving home that morning.
After a lengthy trial in which she refused to cooperate with her own defense, she was convicted of the attempted assassination of the president and received a life sentence under a 1965 law which made attempted presidential assassinations a federal crime punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. When US Attorney Duane Keyes recommended severe punishment because she was "full of hate and violence," Fromme threw an apple at him, hitting him in the face and knocking off his glasses.
"I stood up and waved a gun (at Ford) for a reason," said Fromme. "I was so relieved not to have to shoot it, but, in truth, I came to get life. Not just my life but clean air, healthy water and respect for creatures and creation."
Read more about this topic: Lynette Fromme
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