‘Give Peace A Chance’: Man Who Attempted To Assassinate Reagan Calls For End To ‘Violence’

'Violence is not the way to go'

Ronald Reagan's attempted assassin, John Hinckley, announced his first live music performance



The man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981 is starting a career as a professional musician.

The would-be assassin-turned-song writer announced on Twitter that he has scheduled a performance in New York City for this upcoming summer, the New York Post reported.

Big news!! I will be performing on July 8 at the Market Hotel in Brooklyn, NY. Get your tickets while you can.
— John Hinckley (@John Hinckley) 1649448085

The show was confirmed in an Instagram post by the venue.

Tickets can be purchased online for $20 a piece.

Scenic Presents — a Brooklyn-based musical acts promotion company — also confirmed the show via Twitter.

The company said, “Excited to announce the first show in NYC of @JohnHinckley20 at @markethotelnyc feat. Special guests, July 8th.”

Hinckley said that he is “very excited about his upcoming show.”

I\u2019m very excited about my upcoming show. Ticket sales are good. July 8, Market Hotel in Brooklyn NY.pic.twitter.com/2RIH58xw75
— John Hinckley (@John Hinckley) 1649524266

People generally appeared unfazed, if not outright enthusiastic, about Hinckley’s announcement. Many people responded to him by asking for him to book shows in other cities across the country and asked whether they could purchase merchandise from the gunman-turned-guitarist.

In 2021, Hinckley won a court battle that enabled him to proceed with publishing his music online and pursue a career as a songwriter.

In December 2020, Hinckley created an account on YouTube to try and launch his music career. At the time of writing, his account has 26,200 subscribers and 37 videos. In one video, Hinckley announced his plans to launch an independent record label called Emporia Records.

Last September, Hinckley was “unconditionally released” after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors that would lift the current restrictions currently on him if he could remain mentally stable, the New York Post reported.

After shooting Ronald Reagan, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hinckley, now 66-years-old is currently living alone after living in his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia, and is required to attend individual and group therapy sessions in addition to a slew of doctors having constant oversight over his psychiatric medication.

He is federally barred from owning a firearm and is not legally permitted to contact Reagan’s descendants or actress Jodie Foster with whom Hinckley was obsessed at the time of the shooting.

A violence risk assessment carried out by the Washington Department of Behavioral Health in 2020 found that Hinckley no longer posed a threat.

A regional NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C., reported that in response to this, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute said, “Contrary to the judge’s decision, we believe John Hinckley is still a threat to others, and we strongly oppose his release. Our hope is that the Justice Department will file a motion with the court leading to a reversal of this decision.”

Judge approves unconditional release for would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley



Forty years ago, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. Now he's set to be released unconditionally next June after several years of gradually loosening restrictions, NPR reported Monday morning.

What happened?

After Hinckley wounded President Reagan and three others during a failed March 30, 1981, assassination attempt, which he claimed to have done, at least in part, in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster, a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. He was then institutionalized at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years.

Hinckley has seen his restrictions loosened over the last several years, most notably a judge ruled in July 2016 that he was no longer a danger to himself or the public and could live with his mother full time in Williamsburg, Virginia. His mother died this summer at the age of 95, NPR reported.

The would-be assassin, who is now 66, got final word from the court Monday that he would be released without restriction in June 2022.

Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman announced the decision as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, according to NPR, and noted that "very few patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital have been studied more thoroughly than John Hinckley."

"If he hadn't tried to kill the President, he would have been given unconditional release a long, long, long time ago," Friedman said, according to CNN. "I followed the law, I followed the evidence, and I followed the science. I'm very comfortable with where we are. I think it's probably overdue. ... My caution, with taking incremental steps, should give us all a great deal of comfort that everything is going to be just fine."

Hinckley's lawyer, Barry Levine, called the decision a "momentous event" and asserted that "there is no evidence of danger whatsoever."

The DOJ noted that it will be monitoring Hinckley before his final release in June. From NPR:

Prosecutor Kacie Weston said the Justice Department agreed to a settlement but wanted to monitor Hinckley for the next nine months because of two big changes in his life: He's living on his own for the first time in about 40 years, and because one of his primary doctors is preparing for retirement and disbanding Hinckley's therapy group. The Justice Department said it would file a motion with the court before June if it had fresh concerns about Hinckley.

"Ultimately your honor, at this point, the ball is in Mr. Hinckley's hands," Weston said.

Rolling Stone reported that Hinckley on Monday apologized to the people he had shot, the American public, and, of course, Jodie Foster.