Two attempts on Gerald Ford in 17 days (1975)
Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme pointed a pistol at President Ford in Sacramento on Sept. 5; Sara Jane Moore fired a revolver at him in San Francisco on Sept. 22, missing after a bystander deflected her arm. Both women acted alone and had no connection to each other.
Ford was unhurt in both incidents. The Secret Service expanded use of bulletproof vests for the president and curtailed open ropelines.
The cluster of attempts cemented the modern protective bubble around presidents in public, including advance teams and standoff distances that remain the baseline today.
The 1975 cluster is the closest historical analog to the rapid sequence Trump now faces — multiple unconnected lone actors in quick succession, each prompting another tightening of the protective envelope.
