Lynette Alice “Squeaky” Fromme

Background Information born in Santa Monica, California in 1948 daughter of a homemaker and aeronautical engineer dancer with a group called “The Westchester Lariats”, appearing on The Lawrence Welk Show, at Disneyland, and on two occasions at the White House also performed around Europe and the United States her family moved to Redondo Beach in 1963 rebelled against family after the move turned to drugs and alcohol which caused her grades to drop graduated high school in 1966 Parents forced her to attend El Camino junior college but she only stayed for 2 months had many disagreements and arguments with parents broke away from her parents and met Charles Manson became part of his nomadic “Family” Moved to the “Spahn Ranch” to be with Manson and his other followers

What did she do? In the aftermath of the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969, Fromme wanted to draw attention to the imprisoned Manson She traveled to Sacramento on September 5, 1975, where President Gerald Ford was to meet with Governor Jerry Brown and deliver a speech on Manson’s violent crime, to the California legislature. Deciding to kill the president, she obtained a .45 caliber pistol which proved too large for her purse, and fashioned a makeshift holster with the aid of an elastic belt, which she masked with a long red robe. CRIME Attempted murder DATE September 5th, 1975 VICTIM(s) None (attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford) PUNISHMENT Life in prison/ parole in 2009

Sentence/ Analysis After a single attempted shot, Fromme was disarmed and taken into custody She said she did not intend to shoot him It was later discovered that the gun was so old, the bore was filled with dust, preventing firing Fromme refused to cooperate at her trial without the testimony of Manson Fromme was sentenced to life imprisonment at Alderson Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia She then received word that Manson was dying from cancer, which made her decide to make a jailbreak in 1987 She was captured two days later on Christmas Day, receiving an additional fifteen months on her life sentence, and a nominal fine Fromme was eventually paroled in 2009 at the age of sixty Definitions: Testimony- a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law. Parole- the release of a prisoner temporarily (for a special purpose) or permanently before the completion of a sentence, on the promise of good behavior. Bore-in weaponry, the interior of the barrel of a gun or firearm

Other Facts Famous for saying “Anybody can kill anybody” after her attempted assasinati0n of Ford She was given the name “squeaky” by George Spahn because “of the sound she made when he touched her” George Spahn housed Charles Manson and his followers at his ranch called the “Spahn Ranch”

Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynette Alice Fromme

SNL Squeaky Fromme was portrayed by Laraine Newman in a series of sketches on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the 1970’s

Assassins the Musical Lynette Fromme’s story is one of the nine told in Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s musical “Assassins” in 1990 on Broadway Her character appeared in a duet with John Hinckley, “Unworthy of your Love” https://youtu.be/jgKJycnmD1Y?t=18s

Theory I believe Squeaky Fromme was motivated to commit her crime through “Rebellion” and “Innovation.” Through these two individual adapts, it is logical to see that the Anomie Theory is correct for her “norms” are weak and conflicting. “Rebellion” is when the individual decides that the existing society creates barriers that prevent achieving a goal. Squeaky never got along with her parents growing up. They were said to get into many arguments which eventually led her to drop out of college. I believe Squeaky joined the Manson following in order to rebel against her family. She also wanted to rebel against society in order to change it to make sure that people were more like herself and Charles Manson, instead of like her parents. “Innovation” then comes from one’s adapt to the gap between cultural goals and how to reach the goals through breaking the law. Fromme was very innovative, for she saw how the government was responding to the actions of her leader, Charles Manson, and wanted to stop them herself. She did not want them to continue to let the media comprise a negative view of him, for she admired him so much. Her drive to change the world around her was so strong that it could not be satisfied through legitimate means. Therefore, she chose to break the law in order to protect her leader and her beliefs. This is why I believe through rebellion and innovation, the Anomie Theory best explains Squeaky Fromme’s deviant and criminal behavior.