The 1975 San Francisco Attempt on Gerald Ford’s Life

On September 22, 1975, San Francisco became the site of a second attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford within 17 days. The incident followed Ford’s address to the World Affairs Council and unfolded outside the St. Francis Hotel at Union Square.

Sara Jane Moore, 45, used a .38 Special revolver in the attempt. After Ford left the hotel through its Post Street entrance, Moore fired once. The shot missed. A bystander then seized her shooting arm, preventing her from firing again. The intervention ended the immediate threat before another round could be taken at the president.

The incident came after earlier attention from the Secret Service. Agents had evaluated Moore earlier in 1975 but determined that she did not present a danger to Ford. The day before the shooting, police had detained her on an illegal-handgun charge and then released her. Officers confiscated a .44-caliber Charter Arms Bulldog revolver and 113 rounds of ammunition at that time.

Ford had already survived another assassination attempt 17 days earlier. Following the San Francisco incident, he wore a bulletproof trench coat when appearing in public, according to the historical account.

Moore was sentenced to life in prison on January 15, 1976, for the attempt. She was released on parole on December 31, 2007.

The episode is part of San Francisco’s political and civic history, linking a presidential appearance, public security, and the actions of an individual bystander in a crowded area near Union Square. Its significance rests not only in the missed shot, but also in the chain of events that preceded it: an earlier Secret Service assessment, the handgun arrest and release the day before, and the fact that the president had already survived an assassination attempt less than three weeks earlier.

Because the event occurred in San Francisco and involved a prominent appearance at a local hotel, it remains a useful historical reference for understanding how presidential visits have intersected with public spaces in the city. The account also underscores how quickly an ordinary public gathering can become a matter of national security, and how the actions of someone nearby can alter the outcome of a violent attack.

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Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://www.sfchronicle.com/chronicle_vault/article/Chronicle-Covers-The-SF-assassination-attempt-on-9228091.php - https://potus-geeks.livejournal.com/517756.html - https://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1975/december_12_1975_148048.html - https://web.archive.org/web/20070831033508/http://www.lambda.net/~maximum/sipple.html - https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ford-escaped-2-assassination-attempts-Both-2481771.php - https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Failed-assassination-of-President-Ford-1975-4116916.php Image rights Photograph description: The headstone of Oliver W. Sipple in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California. Sipple thwarted an assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford by Sara Jane Moore on September 22, 1975 in San Francisco. Creator: BrokenSphere. License: CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0). Original image page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOliver_W._Sipple_headstone.JPG. The image was resized for display; no other changes were made.