Sarah Jane Moore is the American who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in San Francisco in September 1975. Per John Kiriakou — recounting the story of his late friend and colleague Mike Mastrovito — Moore’s case ended Mastrovito’s Secret Service career.[1]
The interview Mastrovito conducted two weeks before
As first director of the Secret Service Intelligence Division, Mastrovito personally followed up on threatening letters mailed to the White House. Moore had sent President Ford a letter containing — per Kiriakou — lines like “ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” Mastrovito flew to San Francisco, knocked on her apartment door: “Sarah Jane, I’m Mike Mastrovito from the Secret Service. I got this letter that you wrote to the president. What’s going on here?”[1][2]
Her explanation: “Oh, my Social Security check was late and I was really mad.” Mastrovito: “You threatened to kill the president.” Moore: “No, I’m not going to kill the president.” Mastrovito: “Okay, you’re promising me now.” He said: “You’re not going to kill the president.” Moore: “No, I was just angry. It was a bad day.”[2][3]
The attempt
Ford went to San Francisco two weeks later. Moore was on the street with a .44 and fired. Ford survived. Moore was arrested and “ended up spending almost the rest of her life in prison. They finally released her when Ford died.”[3]
End of Mastrovito’s career
Per Kiriakou: Mastrovito was told after the attempt, “It’s time for you to go.”[4]