3. Lynette Fromme
Lynette was a member of the Manson family who achieved a bit of notoriety for her attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford. In 1967, the adolescent Fromme hitchhiked to Venice, California, where she met Charles Manson, who became a devoted fan.
After being tricked into a better life after having a not-so-good childhood, Lynette felt good about being in this group of people who had mostly experienced the same things as her. That’s probably why all of Manson’s followers were so young and naive and were ready to do whatever he asked. I guess that made him a “good” leader…
In September 1975, Lynette met Gerald Ford at Sacramento’s Capitol Park to talk about the California redwoods. Shortly after, she raised a loaded gun in his face, which a Secret Service agent grabbed from her. During her trial, she never tried to cooperate, and the only thing she said was that she never intended to shoot. Nevertheless, she was convicted and spent 34 years in prison.
