On September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of the Manson Family cult, attempted to assassinate United States president Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California. She wanted to make a statement to people who refused to halt environmental pollution and its effects on air, trees, water, and animals (ATWA). Although Fromme stood a little more than an arm's length from Ford that Friday morning and pointed an M1911 pistol at him in the public grounds of the California State Capitol building, she had not chambered a round, the gun did not fire, and no one was injured.