Sara Jane Moore—the woman who tried to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford in 1975—has died at age 95. Her death marks the end of a life defined by radical politics, espionage, and a failed attempt to spark revolution in a deeply divided America.
Who Was Sara Jane Moore?
Born Sara Jane Kahn on February 15, 1930, in Charleston, West Virginia, Moore led a turbulent life that included four marriages, motherhood, stints as an FBI informant, and a dramatic turn toward leftist extremism in the 1970s .
By the mid-1970s, Moore was living in San Francisco, volunteering with the food program People in Need—a group tied to the Symbionese Liberation Army after the Patty Hearst kidnapping . During this time, she also served as an FBI informant before becoming disillusioned and radicalized [[9][10]].
The Assassination Attempt: A Timeline
🔍 Key Events Leading to September 22, 1975
- September 5, 1975: Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme attempts to shoot President Ford in Sacramento.
- September 21, 1975: Moore is stopped by Secret Service in Palo Alto with a .44-caliber pistol but is released after questioning .
- September 22, 1975: Moore purchases a .38-caliber revolver and fires two shots at President Ford outside San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel [[1][5]].
- Same day: Former Marine Oliver Sipple deflects Moore’s arm, causing the second bullet to miss Ford and only graze a bystander [[17][22]].
Oliver Sipple: The Unlikely Hero
Oliver Sipple, a disabled Vietnam War veteran and openly gay man, became an overnight hero for his quick action. However, his life afterward was marred by media intrusion and personal struggles. He died in 1989 at age 47 [[18][20]].
Moore’s Legal Journey and Imprisonment
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1975 | Pleads guilty to attempted assassination; sentenced to life in prison. |
| 1979 | Escapes from federal prison camp in West Virginia; recaptured within hours. |
| 1986 | Converts to Judaism, reportedly for access to better prison meals . |
| 2007 | Paroled after 32 years; President Ford had died the year before . |
| 2009 | Appears on NBC’s Today show, expressing regret but reaffirming her revolutionary motives . |
Cultural Legacy: Assassins the Musical
Moore’s story entered pop culture through Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s 1990 musical Assassins, which dramatizes both successful and failed presidential assassins. In the show, Moore is portrayed as a chaotic, unpredictable figure—“as likely to pull a banana from her capacious handbag as she is a pistol” [[27][24]].
The musical has seen numerous revivals, keeping Moore’s name alive in American theater and political discourse.
Why the Secret Service Missed Her
According to investigative journalist Geri Spieler, who authored Taking Aim at the President, Moore “could be charming” and appeared like a “kindly neighbor”—traits that masked her intent .
“They were looking for a man, foreign-born, a loner with delusions of grandeur,” Spieler noted, “not a white, middle-aged lady with curly hair” .
Final Years and Death
After her 2007 release, Moore lived under an assumed name, first in North Carolina with her husband Philip Chase (a clinical psychologist who died in 2018), then later in Franklin, Tennessee. She rarely gave interviews and largely disappeared from public view until her death on September 24, 2025 .
Her life remains a cautionary tale about political extremism, mental health, and the blurred lines between activism and violence during one of America’s most turbulent decades.
For more on presidential security history, see our deep dive on notable U.S. presidential assassination attempts.
