NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sara Jane Moore, who was imprisoned for more than 30 years after she made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, has died. She was 95.
Moore died Wednesday at a nursing home in Franklin, Tennessee, according to Demetria Kalodimos, a longtime acquaintance who said she was informed by the executor of Moore’s estate. Kalodimos is an executive producer at the Nashville Banner newspaper, which was first to report the death.
Moore seemed an unlikely candidate to gain national notoriety as a violent political radical who nearly killed a president. At the time of her attempted assassination, she was a middle-aged woman who had started dabbling in leftist groups and had even served as an FBI informant.
Sentenced to life, Moore was serving her time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, when she was unexpectedly paroled on December 31, 2007, though federal officials have not disclosed the reasons for her release.
After her release, she lived largely anonymously in an undisclosed location but expressed regret for her actions in broadcast interviews. She described her involvement in radical political movements that were prevalent in California during the mid-1970s, stating, “I had put blinders on, I really had, and I was listening to only ... what I thought I believed. We thought that doing that would actually trigger a new revolution.”
Moore was often confused with Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who similarly attempted to kill Ford weeks before her. On September 22, 1975, Moore shot at Ford in San Francisco, but the bullet missed due to intervention from Oliver Sipple, a nearby former Marine.
In a 1982 interview, Moore expressed remorse for her missed opportunity, saying, “I’m sorry I missed. Yes, I’m sorry I missed. I don’t like to be a failure.” She advanced her conviction that her government had declared war on the left and wished she could apologize directly to Ford, who had passed away in 2006, stating, “I’m very happy that I did not succeed.”
Moore was born Sara Jane Kahn on February 15, 1930, in Charleston, West Virginia, and her life was characterized by a series of tumultuous events, including multiple name changes, failed marriages, and complex involvement with both radical politics and federal agencies.
Despite the bizarre circumstances that defined her, Moore's actions have continued to provoke discussion about political extremism, personal accountability, and regret, providing a vivid reflection of a powerful era in American history.
Moore died Wednesday at a nursing home in Franklin, Tennessee, according to Demetria Kalodimos, a longtime acquaintance who said she was informed by the executor of Moore’s estate. Kalodimos is an executive producer at the Nashville Banner newspaper, which was first to report the death.
Moore seemed an unlikely candidate to gain national notoriety as a violent political radical who nearly killed a president. At the time of her attempted assassination, she was a middle-aged woman who had started dabbling in leftist groups and had even served as an FBI informant.
Sentenced to life, Moore was serving her time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, when she was unexpectedly paroled on December 31, 2007, though federal officials have not disclosed the reasons for her release.
After her release, she lived largely anonymously in an undisclosed location but expressed regret for her actions in broadcast interviews. She described her involvement in radical political movements that were prevalent in California during the mid-1970s, stating, “I had put blinders on, I really had, and I was listening to only ... what I thought I believed. We thought that doing that would actually trigger a new revolution.”
Moore was often confused with Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, who similarly attempted to kill Ford weeks before her. On September 22, 1975, Moore shot at Ford in San Francisco, but the bullet missed due to intervention from Oliver Sipple, a nearby former Marine.
In a 1982 interview, Moore expressed remorse for her missed opportunity, saying, “I’m sorry I missed. Yes, I’m sorry I missed. I don’t like to be a failure.” She advanced her conviction that her government had declared war on the left and wished she could apologize directly to Ford, who had passed away in 2006, stating, “I’m very happy that I did not succeed.”
Moore was born Sara Jane Kahn on February 15, 1930, in Charleston, West Virginia, and her life was characterized by a series of tumultuous events, including multiple name changes, failed marriages, and complex involvement with both radical politics and federal agencies.
Despite the bizarre circumstances that defined her, Moore's actions have continued to provoke discussion about political extremism, personal accountability, and regret, providing a vivid reflection of a powerful era in American history.
