Sara Jane Moore—Who Attempted to Kill Ford—Speaks Out

Sara Jane Moore, one of only two women to attempt the assassination of a U.S. president, recently began speaking publicly from her home in Tennessee at age 94, offering a rare and candid reflection on the day she fired at President Gerald Ford in 1975. Her revelations and retrospective insights—made during an interview recorded shortly after a 2024 presidential rally—shed light on her motivations, mental state, interactions with law enforcement, and the legacy of that tense moment in American history (nashvillebanner.com).

1. A Missed Shot, A Moment That Echoes Through History

On September 22, 1975, Moore positioned herself in the crowd outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Armed with a .38-caliber revolver, she fired a shot toward President Ford, missing him by mere inches—and miraculously striking no one else, thanks in part to the quick intervention of bystander Oliver Sipple (en.wikipedia.org).

Seventeen days earlier, another woman—Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme—had also attempted to shoot Ford, making Moore’s attempt the second in that extraordinary year (en.wikipedia.org).

Captured almost immediately, Moore was swiftly arrested and later sentenced to life in prison on December 15, 1975 (medium.com).

2. An Unfiltered Interview at Age 94

In the summer of 2024, Moore—now 94 and living in Tennessee—agreed to speak with Demetria Kalodimos of the Nashville Banner, hours after another presidential assassination attempt made headlines (nashvillebanner.com). The tone was measured, yet candid. Moore watched the news coverage of the attempted assassination with intense interest, drawing disturbing yet familiar parallels to her own act decades ago .

While she declined to express explicit remorse, she reflected on the day of the assassination attempt, offering insights into her frame of mind—an emotional detachment born of radical political conviction and personal narrative .

3. From Activist to Assassin—And FBI Informant

Long before the shot was fired, Moore had been embedded in radical political circles in the Bay Area, having also served as an FBI informant (kqed.org). The duality of her role—with activists on one side and law enforcement on the other—created layers of complexity that may have influenced her trajectory toward violence.

She told producers of the documentary Suburban Fury that she became increasingly disillusioned with political rhetoric, eventually viewing an extreme act as a form of “correct expression” of her anger (kqed.org).

4. Psychological Landscape and Political Climate

Moore’s actions didn’t emerge from vacuum—they were shaped by the volatile climate of the 1970s, a decade marked by political assassinations and deep ideological tensions. Moore herself said that radical politics, combined with a sense of urgency, pushed her toward that fatal decision .

In Suburban Fury, she reveals chilling introspection: at times rigid and unreflective, at others detached from the emotional impact of her actions—revealing a mind influenced by both conviction and disconnection .

5. Life After Prison and Parole Reflections

Moore was granted parole on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years in federal prison in California (en.wikipedia.org). In later interviews, including one on NBC’s Today show in 2019, she expressed relief that she hadn’t succeeded, acknowledging she was “blinded by her radical political views” (en.wikipedia.org).

Yet in the Nashville Banner interview, her tone is raw and unfiltered—less regret, more reconciliation with the past.

6. Legacy: Documentary, Memory, and National Dialogue

Moore’s voice is now central to Suburban Fury, a documentary that premiered in 2024 at the New York Film Festival (nashvillebanner.com, en.wikipedia.org). It’s a contemplative piece, constructed almost entirely from Moore’s own recollections and archival media. Critics have noted Moore’s reluctance to analyze her role deeply—even decades later—which adds both intrigue and tension to the narrative (kqed.org).

In telling her story from behind the wheel of a station wagon or the halls of the St. Francis Hotel, Moore invites viewers into a daunting moral space: a woman who fired a bullet at the nation’s leader, yet still demands a hearing for her inner rationale.

7. Why Her Testimony Still Matters

Moore’s recent reflections are more than historical curiosity—they pose urgent questions about political radicalization, gendered violence, and the frailty of presidential security. She is confronting the tumult of the 1970s while looking through the lens of a 21st-century observer.

Her willingness to speak—94 years young—adds gravity to the discussion, turning abstract debates on ideology, mental health, and radicalization into a personal narrative of a life intertwined with politics and violence.

Conclusion

Sara Jane Moore’s late-life reflection offers a rare—and deeply unsettling—window into a singular moment in American political history. At 94, she remains a living testament to the unresolved tensions of the 1970s and the complexities of female political violence.

Her words, though sparse on regret, are rich in context. And as the nation revisits her story amid renewed threats to political figures, her voice matters—not as a plea for forgiveness, but as a reminder that extreme ideas, left unchecked, can compel drastic actions.

Through interviews, documentaries, and archives, Moore is speaking out—not to justify, but to be heard. And perhaps, in that honesty, we can better understand the fragile line between protest and assassination.