View source for John Hinckley Jr.

{{Short description|Attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan (born 1955)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox criminal
| image             = John Hinckley, Jr. Mugshot (colour corrected).png
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Hinckley's mugshot on March 31, 1981, the day after the shooting
| birth_name        = John Warnock Hinckley Jr.
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1955|05|29}}
| birth_place       = [[Ardmore, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| motive            = Attempt to gain the attention of [[Jodie Foster]]
| death_date        = 
| death_place       = 
| education         = 
| signature         = Signature of John Hinckley Jr.png
| criminal_charge   = *[[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|Attempting to kill the President]]
* [[Assault]] on a [[United States Secret Service|federal officer]]
* Use of a [[firearm]] during the commission of a federal [[felony]]
* Assault with a [[Deadly weapon|dangerous weapon]] (×4)
* [[Attempted murder|Assault with intent to kill]] while armed (x4)
* Assaulting a [[police officer]] with a deadly weapon
* Carrying a pistol without the [[Firearms license|required license]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Jury Indicts Hinckley on 13 Counts Based on Shooting of President |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 25, 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/25/us/jury-indicts-hinckley-on-13-counts-based-on-shooting-of-president.html |last1=Pear |first1=Robert |access-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202065717/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/25/us/jury-indicts-hinckley-on-13-counts-based-on-shooting-of-president.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Infobox event
| title =
| child = yes
| verdict = [[Acquittal|Not guilty]] on all counts by [[Insanity defense|reason of insanity]]
}}
| criminal_penalty  = [[Involuntary commitment|Institutionalization]]
| criminal_status   = Granted unconditional release in 2022
| victims           = {{Unbulleted list|1 killed|3 injured|2 stalked}}
| apprehended       = March 30, 1981
| endyear           = 1981
| beginyear         = Late 1970s
| module            = {{infobox youtuber
| child = yes
| youtube_id           = UCck3J5KR3INUP1K-hrBe8iA
| youtube_display_name  = John Hinckley


| youtube_years_active  = 2020–present
| youtube_genre         = Music
| youtube_subscribers   = 42.6k<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| youtube_views         = 2 million<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| stats_update        = October 8, 2025
|module         = {{Listen
|embed=yes
|filename= John Hinckley Jr discusses on YouTube that he wishes for more Peace and Harmony in the World, 2023.mp3
|title=John Hinckley Jr.'s voice
|type=YouTube video
|description=John Hinckley Jr. discusses in a [[YouTube]] video on his wishes for the world to be more peaceful following the [[attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania]]<br />Recorded July 18, 2024}}
}}
}}
'''John Warnock Hinckley Jr.''' (born May 29, 1955) is an American man<!-- don't change to "musician" or similar per [[MOS:ROLEBIO]] --> who [[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|attempted to assassinate]] U.S. president [[Ronald Reagan]] as he left the [[Washington Hilton|Hilton Hotel]] in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, two months after [[First inauguration of Ronald Reagan|Reagan's first inauguration]]. Using a revolver, Hinckley wounded Reagan, police officer [[Thomas Delahanty]], [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agent [[Tim McCarthy]] and [[White House Press Secretary]] [[James Brady]]. Brady was left disabled and died 33 years later from his injuries.<ref>{{cite web |title=James Brady's death ruled a homicide, police say |date=August 8, 2014 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/08/politics/brady-death-homicide |publisher=CNN |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref>

Hinckley was reportedly seeking fame to impress actress [[Jodie Foster]], with whom he had a fixation after watching her in [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 1976 film ''[[Taxi Driver]]''. He was found [[Insanity defense|not guilty by reason of insanity]] and remained under institutional psychiatric care for over three decades.<ref name="foxnews.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/john-hinckley-jr-leaves-dc-mental-hospital-for-virginia|title=John Hinckley Jr. to begin living full-time in Virginia Sept. 10|date=September 12, 2016|access-date=December 6, 2018|agency=[[Fox News]]|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145254/https://www.foxnews.com/us/john-hinckley-jr-leaves-dc-mental-hospital-for-virginia|url-status=live}}</ref> Public outcry over the verdict led state legislatures and [[United States Congress|Congress]] to narrow their respective insanity defenses.

In 2016, a federal judge ruled that Hinckley could be released from psychiatric care as he was no longer considered a threat to himself or others, albeit with many conditions. After 2020, a ruling was issued that Hinckley may showcase his artwork, writings, and music publicly under his own name, rather than anonymously as he had in the past. Since then, he has maintained a [[YouTube]] channel for his music. His restrictions were unconditionally lifted in June 2022.<ref name=":0" />

==Family and early life==
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. was born in [[Ardmore, Oklahoma]]<ref name=UMKC>{{cite web|url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/HBIO.HTM|title=John W. Hinckley Jr.: A Biography|publisher=[[University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law]]|access-date=September 19, 2013|archive-date=March 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314081410/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/HBIO.HTM|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/20/us/john-hinckley-jr-fast-facts/index.html "John Hinckley Jr Fast Facts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606141228/http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/20/us/john-hinckley-jr-fast-facts/index.html|date=June 6, 2017 }}. [[CNN]]. Retrieved September 19, 2013.</ref> and moved with his wealthy family to [[Dallas, Texas]] at the age of four. His father was John Warnock Hinckley Sr. (1925–2008), founder, chairman, chief executive and president of the Vanderbilt Energy Corporation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Vanderbilt Recovers from Shock of Link to Reagan Shooting|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/04/business/vanderbilt-recovers-from-shock-of-link-to-regan-shooting.html|access-date=October 24, 2022|work=The New York Times|date=April 4, 1981}}</ref> His mother was Jo Ann Hinckley ([[Birth names#Maiden and married names|née]] Moore; 1925–2021).<ref>{{cite news|title=Jo Ann Hinckley, mother of would-be presidential assassin, dies at 95|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/jo-ann-hinckley-dead/2021/08/04/c9e44624-f52c-11eb-a49b-d96f2dac0942_story.html|access-date=14 July 2024|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|date=4 August 2021}}</ref> 

Hinckley's father was a financial supporter of [[George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush]] in the [[1980 Republican Party presidential primaries|1980 election campaign]]. Bush was Reagan's biggest rival for the Republican Party's presidential nomination. Hinckley's older brother Scott, who became vice president of his father's oil company after graduating from college, was supposed to have dinner at [[Neil Bush]]'s house the day after the assassination attempt.<ref>Arthur Wiese, Downing, Margaret: ''Bush's Son Was To Dine With Suspect's Brother'', The Houston Post, 31 March 1981 </ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bulletin - Hinkley's kin slated to dine with Bush's son |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HpASAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EPcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4273,846911&dq=hinckley+neil+bush+1981&hl=en |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=news.google.com}}</ref> The connection between the two families has occasionally been used for [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]], for example by [[Roger Stone]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-28 |title=Author Roger Stone's Latest Conspiracy Theory: George H.W. Bush Behind Reagan Assassination Attempt - CBS Philadelphia |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/author-roger-stones-latest-conspiracy-theory-george-h-w-bush-behind-reagan-assassination-attempt/ |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Hinckley grew up in [[University Park, Texas]],<ref name=AmericanExperience>{{cite web|author=Wolf, Julie|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/reagan-hinckley/|title=Biography: John Hinckley Jr.|work=[[American Experience|The American Experience]]|publisher=[[PBS]]|access-date=September 19, 2013|archive-date=February 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213093714/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/reagan-hinckley/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and attended [[Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)|Highland Park High School]]<ref>{{cite news|title=John Hinckley Jr. brings infamy to Lubbock|url=http://www.lubbockcentennial.com/Section/1959_1983/hinckley.shtml|year=2008|newspaper=[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]]|access-date=August 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925143644/http://www.lubbockcentennial.com/Section/1959_1983/hinckley.shtml|archive-date=September 25, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> in [[Dallas County, Texas|Dallas County]]. After Hinckley graduated from high school in 1973, his family, owners of the Hinckley oil company, moved to [[Evergreen, Colorado]], where the new company headquarters was located.<ref name="UMKC"/> He was an off-and-on student at [[Texas Tech University]] from 1974 to 1980, but eventually dropped out.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Texas Tech University|date=1974|title=La Ventana, vol. 049|language=en|hdl=2346/48660}}</ref> 

In 1975, Hinckley went to Los Angeles in the hope of becoming a songwriter. His efforts were unsuccessful, and he wrote to his parents with tales of misfortune and pleas for money. He spoke of a girlfriend, Lynn Collins, who turned out to be a fabrication. In September 1976, he returned to his parents' home in Evergreen.<ref name="Noe">{{cite web|first=Denise|last=Noe|url=https://www.crimelibrary.org/terrorists_spies/assassins/john_hinckley/1.html|title=The John Hinckley Case|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517070711/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/john_hinckley/9.html|archive-date=May 17, 2013|access-date=September 19, 2013|url-status=live|website=[[Crime Library]]}}</ref>{{rp|4}} 

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hinckley began purchasing weapons and practicing with them. He was prescribed [[antidepressant]]s and [[tranquilizer]]s to deal with his emotional problems.<ref name=UMKC/>

==Obsession with Jodie Foster==
Hinckley became obsessed with the 1976 film ''[[Taxi Driver]]'', in which disturbed protagonist [[Travis Bickle]] ([[Robert De Niro]]) plots to assassinate a presidential candidate. Bickle was partly based on the diaries of [[Arthur Bremer]], who attempted to assassinate [[George Wallace]].<ref name=AmericanExperience/> Hinckley developed an infatuation with Iris, a sexually trafficked 12-year-old child, played by [[Jodie Foster]]. Hinckley began to adopt the dress and mannerisms of the Travis Bickle character.<ref name="famoustrials">{{Cite web|last=Linder|first=Douglas|author-link=Doug Linder|title=The Trial of John W. Hinckley, Jr.|url=https://famous-trials.com/johnhinckley/537-home?__cf_chl_tk=FpBcrfEUItcGHJE40s26uuMJWXN8nEjNfUe3GY7mdMs-1711234800-0.0.1.1-1365|publisher=UMKC School of Law|website=famous-trials.com}}</ref>
[[File:Window from the armored limousine that was struck by a bullet during the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and the revolver used by would-be assassin John Hinckley.jpg|right|thumb|Hinckley's [[Röhm RG-14]] revolver that he bought in Dallas. Behind it is the armored-glass limousine window hit by one of its bullets, on display at the US Secret Service's restricted-access museum, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-10|title=The Secret Washington Museum That Tourists Can't Visit|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/the-secret-washington-museum-that-tourists-can-t-visit-/6866426.html|access-date=2024-03-27|website=Voice of America|language=en}}</ref>]]

When Foster entered [[Yale University]], Hinckley moved to [[New Haven, Connecticut]] for a short time to [[stalking|stalk]] her. His parents had given him funds to attend a writing course at Yale. He never enrolled in the course, but instead used the money to support himself while sending Foster love letters and romantic poems, and repeatedly calling and leaving her messages.<ref name="famoustrials"/>

Failing to develop any meaningful contact with Foster, Hinckley fantasized about conducting an [[aircraft hijacking]] or killing himself in front of her to get her attention. Eventually, he settled on a scheme to impress her by assassinating the president, thinking that by achieving a place in history, he would appeal to her as an equal. Hinckley trailed President [[Jimmy Carter]] from state to state during his campaign for the [[1980 United States presidential election]] and got to within 20 feet of him at a rally at [[Dayton, Ohio]].<ref name="famoustrials"/>

On October 9, 1980, Hinckley was in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], on the same day Carter was visiting the city. Hinckley was arrested at [[Nashville International Airport]] while trying to board a flight to New York with handcuffs and three unloaded guns in his hand-luggage. The airport police handed him over to the [[Metropolitan Nashville Police Department]]. Hinckley's guns and handcuffs were confiscated, and he was fined $50 plus court costs. He was released later the same day.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rogers|first=Ed|date=1981-04-08|title=Hinckley's previous arrest considered minor - UPI Archives|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/08/Hinckleys-previous-arrest-considered-minor/5533355554000/|access-date=2024-03-22|website=UPI|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1981-04-05|title=Agents Tracing Hinckley's Path Find a Shift to Violent Emotion|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/05/us/agents-tracing-hinckley-s-path-find-a-shift-to-violent-emotion.html|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

After Nashville, Hinckley flew to [[Dallas]]. On October 13, he bought more guns from a Dallas pawn shop. They included the [[.22 caliber]] [[Röhm RG-14]] revolver he used five months later to attempt the assassination of Reagan.<ref>{{cite news|title=It's Business as Usual at the Shop in Dallas where Hinkley Bought Gun|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 14, 1981|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/14/us/it-s-business-as-usual-at-the-shop-in-dallas-where-hinckley-bought-gun.html|last1=Pear|first1=Robert|access-date=2024-06-25}}</ref> The $3,600 from his parents was now exhausted and he returned home penniless.<ref name="famoustrials"/> He spent four months undergoing psychiatric treatment for depression, but his mental health did not improve.<ref name="famoustrials"/> In 1981, he began to target the newly elected president [[Ronald Reagan]]. For this purpose, he collected material on the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]].{{fact|date=July 2024}}

==Ronald Reagan assassination attempt==
{{Main|Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan}}
[[File:President Ronald Reagan moments before he was shot in an assassination attempt 1981.jpg|thumb|250px|Ronald Reagan waves just before he is shot. From left are [[advance man]] [[Rick Ahearn]]; [[Jerry Parr]], in a white trench coat, who pushed Reagan into the limousine; press secretary [[James Brady]], who was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head; Reagan; aide [[Michael Deaver]]; an unidentified policeman; policeman [[Thomas Delahanty]], who was shot in the neck; and secret service agent [[Tim McCarthy]], who was shot in the chest.]]

[[File:Photograph of chaos outside the Washington Hilton Hotel after the assassination attempt on President Reagan (white border removed).jpg|thumb|Brady and Delahanty lie wounded on the ground]]
Hinckley arrived in [[Washington, D.C.]] on March 29, 1981, after travelling by [[Greyhound Lines|Greyhound bus]] from Los Angeles. He spent the night in a hotel. The following morning, he read President Reagan's itinerary in a newspaper and discovered that later that day, Reagan was to be at the [[Washington Hilton|Hilton Hotel]] to address an [[AFL–CIO]] conference. Hinckley spent the morning composing a letter to Jodie Foster.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/jfostercommun.HTM|title=Letter written to Jodie Foster by John Hinckley Jr.|publisher=University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law|date=March 30, 1981|access-date=February 8, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108054234/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/jfostercommun.HTM|archive-date=January 8, 2011}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Over the past seven months I've left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. ... The reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you.|Excerpt from Hinckley's March 30 letter}}
After finishing the letter, he took a taxi to the Hilton Hotel.<ref name="famoustrials"/>

At 2:27 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]],<ref name=UMKC/> Hinckley was among a crowd of several hundred outside the hotel. He was carrying his Röhm revolver. When Reagan emerged from the hotel, Hinckley shot all six of the bullets in the gun at Reagan. The first shot critically wounded press secretary [[James Brady]]. The second wounded police officer [[Thomas Delahanty]]. The third shot missed, but the fourth hit [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agent [[Tim McCarthy|Timothy McCarthy]], who was deliberately standing in the line-of-fire to shield Reagan. The fifth bullet struck the armoured glass of the [[Presidential state car (United States)|presidential limousine]]. The sixth and last seriously wounded Reagan, when it ricocheted off the side of the limousine and hit him in the chest.<ref>{{cite news|last =Reagan|first =Ronald|title =Larry King Live: Remembering the Assassination Attempt on Ronald Reagan|date =March 30, 2001|url =http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/30/lkl.00.html|access-date =November 13, 2008|work =CNN|archive-date =December 19, 2019|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20191219043617/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/30/lkl.00.html|url-status =live}}</ref><ref name="famoustrials"/>

Alfred Antenucci, a [[Cleveland, Ohio]], labor official who stood near Hinckley and saw him firing,<ref name="ssreport19810504">{{Cite web|url=http://www.secretservice.gov/Reagan%20Assassination%20Attempt%20Interview%20Reports.pdf|title=Reagan Assassination Attempt Interview Reports|last=Office of Inspection|publisher=United States Secret Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721062148/https://www.secretservice.gov/Reagan%20Assassination%20Attempt%20Interview%20Reports.pdf|archive-date=July 21, 2011|access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref> hit Hinckley in the head and pulled him to the ground.<ref name=antenucciobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/14/obituaries/alfred-antenucci.html|title=Alfred Antenucci (death notice)|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|date=May 13, 1984|access-date=December 1, 2010|archive-date=May 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518111738/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/14/obituaries/alfred-antenucci.html|url-status=live }}</ref> Within two seconds, agent Dennis McCarthy (no relation to agent Timothy McCarthy) dove onto Hinckley, intent on protecting Hinckley, to avoid what happened to [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], who was killed before he could be tried for the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President Kennedy]].<ref name="wilber2011">{{cite book|title=Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan|author=Wilber, Del Quentin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdCLMpSY5qkC&pg=PP1|year=2011|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-8050-9346-9|format=hardcover }}</ref>{{rp|84}} Another Cleveland-area labor official, Frank J. McNamara, joined Antenucci and started punching Hinckley in the head, striking him so hard he drew blood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/01/Cleveland-labor-leader-ill-after-grabbing-Reagans-attacker/6802354949200/|title=Cleveland labor leader ill after grabbing Reagan's attacker|website=UPI|access-date=July 13, 2019|archive-date=July 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713181156/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/01/Cleveland-labor-leader-ill-after-grabbing-Reagans-attacker/6802354949200/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As a result of the shooting, Brady endured a long recuperation period, remaining paralyzed on the left side of his body,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jim-brady-25-years-later/|publisher=[[CBS News]]|title=Jim Brady, 25 Years Later|date=January 21, 2006|access-date=August 24, 2007|archive-date=November 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104202405/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/21/eveningnews/main1227348.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> until his death on August 4, 2014. Brady's death was ruled a homicide 33 years after the shooting.<ref name="Peter Hermann">{{cite news|author=Peter Herman|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/james-bradys-death-ruled-homicide-by-dc-medical-examiner/2014/08/08/686de224-1f41-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html?wpisrc=al_national|title=James Brady's death ruled homicide by Virginia medical examiner|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 8, 2014|access-date=August 8, 2014|archive-date=February 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207010051/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/james-bradys-death-ruled-homicide-by-dc-medical-examiner/2014/08/08/686de224-1f41-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html?wpisrc=al_national|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Trial==
Hinckley was initially held at [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]], where he met his defense lawyer [[Vincent J. Fuller]]. He was quickly moved to [[Federal Correctional Complex, Butner]]. For four months, he was interviewed by both prosecution and defense. During his incarceration he twice tried to kill himself, in May and November 1981.<ref name="famoustrials"/>

At trial, the government emphasized Hinckley's premeditation of the shooting: noting that he had purchased a gun, trailed President Reagan, traveled to Washington, D.C., left a note detailing his plan, selected particularly devastating ammunition, and fired six shots. The defense argued that Hinckley's actions and his obsession with Foster indicated that he was legally insane.<ref name="Sallett">{{cite journal|first=Jonathan B.|last=Sallett|title=Review: After Hinckley: The Insanity Defense Reexamined|volume=94|journal=[[Yale Law Journal]]|publisher=[[Yale Law School]]|location=New Haven, Connecticut|pages=1545–57|year=1985|doi=10.2307/796141|jstor=796141|department=Book review|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/160249284.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|1548}} The trial was chiefly devoted to a battle of the psychiatric experts concerning Hinckley's mental state.<ref name="Sallett"/>{{rp|1549}} Because Hinckley was charged in federal court, the prosecution was required to prove his sanity beyond reasonable doubt.<ref>{{cite book|first=Alan A.|last=Stone|title=Law, Psychiatry, and Morality: Essays and Analysis|page=82|year=1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|first=Stuart|last=Taylor|title=Actress's Testimony Videotaped for Hinckley's Long-Delayed Trial|date=March 31, 1982|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/31/us/actress-s-testimony-videotaped-for-hinckley-s-long-delayed-trial.html}}</ref>

For the defense, [[William T. Carpenter]], who diagnosed Hinckley with [[schizophrenia]], testified for three days, opining that Hinckley had amalgamated various personalities from fiction and real life—including Travis Bickle from ''Taxi Driver'' and [[John Lennon]]. Carpenter concluded that Hinckley could not emotionally appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions because he was consumed by the prospect of a "magical unification with Jodie Foster".<ref name="Famous Trials">{{cite web|first=Douglas O.|last=Linder|author-link=Doug Linder|title=The Trial of John W. Hinckley, Jr.|work=Famous Trials|url=https://www.famous-trials.com/johnhinckley/537-home}}</ref> David Bear testified that Hinckley's actions followed "the very opposite of logic" and that Hinckley did not exhibit signs of [[malingering]].<ref name="Famous Trials"/> Bear said that his opinion was in part supported by a [[CAT scan]] of Hinckley's brain showing widened [[Sulcus (neuroanatomy)|sulci]], a feature Bear said was found in {{frac|1|3}} of persons with schizophrenia, but only two percent of non-schizophrenics.<ref name="Famous Trials"/><ref name="Sallett"/>{{rp|1549}} Similarly, Ernest Prelinger testified that, while Hinckley had an above-average [[Intelligence quotient|IQ]], his results on the [[Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory]] were highly abnormal—specifically, Prelinger said that only one person out of a million with Hinckley's score would not be suffering from serious mental illness.<ref name="Famous Trials"/>

For the prosecution, [[Park Dietz]] testified that he had diagnosed Hinckley with [[dysthymia]] and three types of personality disorders: [[Narcissistic personality disorder|narcissistic]], [[schizoid personality disorder|schizoid]], and mixed, with [[Borderline personality disorder|borderline]], and [[Passive-aggressive behavior#Passive-aggressive personality disorder|passive-aggressive]] features.<ref name="Noe"/>{{rp|9}} Dietz found that none of these illnesses rendered Hinckley legally insane.<ref name="Noe"/>{{rp|9}} His report said that there was "no evidence that [Hinckley] was so impaired that he could not appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or conform his conduct to the requirements of the law".<ref name="Famous Trials"/> Sally Johnson, a psychiatrist in the federal prison who interviewed Hinckley more than any other doctor, emphasized that Hinckley had planned the shooting<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Semantics of Insanity|first=Gertrude|last=Block|journal=Oklahoma Law Review|volume=36|date=1983|pages=561–612|url=https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2116&context=olr}}</ref>{{rp|601}} and that he was preoccupied with being famous.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/06/11/He-felt-people-owed-him-something/1205392616000/|work=[[United Press International]]|title='He felt people owed him something'|first=Gregory|last=Gordan|date=June 11, 1982}}</ref> Johnson said that Hinckley's interest in Foster was no different than any young man's interest in a movie star.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[United Press International]]|title=A government psychiatrist said John W. Hinckley Jr.'s poems...|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/06/22/A-government-psychiatrist-said-John-W-Hinckley-Jrs-poems/4417393566400/|date=June 22, 1982}}</ref>

The insanity instruction provided to the Hinckley jurors was based on the [[American Law Institute]]'s [[Model Penal Code]]:

{{cquote|The burden is on the Government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt either that the defendant was not suffering from a mental disease or defect on March 30, 1981, or else that he nevertheless had substantial capacity on that date both to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law and to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct.|author=Jury instructions.<ref name="Sallett"/>{{rp|1549 n.7}}}}
The jury deliberated for a total of 24 hours over the course of four days. Hinckley was found [[Insanity defense|not guilty by reason of insanity]] to all his 13 charges on June 21, 1982.<ref name="NYT-1982-06-22">{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Stuart|date=1982-06-22|title=Hinkley is Cleared but is Held Insane in Reagan Attack|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/22/us/hinkley-is-cleared-but-is-held-insane-in-reagan-attack.html|access-date=2024-03-29|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Aftermath===
Soon after his trial, Hinckley wrote that the shooting was "the greatest love offering in the history of the world" and was disappointed that Foster did not reciprocate his love.<ref>Taylor, Stuart (July 9, 1982). [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9401E6DA1639F93AA35754C0A964948260 "Hinckley Hails 'Historical' Shooting To Win Love"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211053040/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9401E6DA1639F93AA35754C0A964948260|date=December 11, 2008 }}. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> In 1985, Hinckley's parents wrote ''Breaking Points'', a book detailing their son's mental condition.<ref name="Famous Trials"/>

On August 4, 2014, James Brady died. Because the medical examiner determined his death to be a result of the "gunshot wound and consequences thereof", it was labeled a homicide.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/08/08/338949267/james-brady-s-death-is-ruled-a-homicide|title=James Brady's Death Is Ruled A Homicide|first=Bill|last=Chappell|date=August 8, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Peter Hermann"/> Hinckley did not face charges as a result of Brady's death because he had been found not guilty of the original crime by reason of insanity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/john-hinckley-wont-face-murder-charges-james-bradys-death-n278561|title=John Hinckley Won't Face Murder Charges in James Brady's Death|first1=Pete|last1=Williams|first2=Hasani|last2=Gittens|publisher=[[NBC News]]|date=January 2, 2015|access-date=January 2, 2015|archive-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102210911/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/john-hinckley-wont-face-murder-charges-james-bradys-death-n278561|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, since Brady's death occurred more than 33 years after the shooting, prosecution of Hinckley was barred under the [[Year and a day rule|year and a day]] law in effect in the District of Columbia at the time of the shooting.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/02/hinckley-wont-face-murder-charge-in-death-of-james-brady-prosecutors-say/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title='Hinckley won't face murder charge in death of James Brady, prosecutors say'|first=Eugene|last=Volokh|date=January 2, 2015|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044714/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/02/hinckley-wont-face-murder-charge-in-death-of-james-brady-prosecutors-say/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Effect on insanity defenses====
Before the Hinckley case, the insanity defense had been used in less than 2% of all American [[felony]] cases and was unsuccessful in almost 75% of those trials.<ref name="Famous Trials"/> Created in 1962, the Model Penal Code's insanity test broadened the then-dominant [[M'Naghten rules|M'Naghten test]]. By 1981, it was adopted in ten of the eleven federal circuits and a majority of the states.<ref name="Shoptaw">{{cite journal|first=R. Michael|last=Shoptaw|title=M'Naghten Is A Fundamental Right: Why Abolishing The Traditional Insanity Defense Violates Due Process|volume=84|journal=Mississippi Law Journal|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2558549|page=1101|year=2015|ssrn=2558549 }}</ref>{{rp|10 & n.40}} As a consequence of public outcry over the Hinckley verdict, the [[United States Congress]] and a number of states enacted legislation making the insanity defense more restrictive. Congress rejected the MPC test,<ref name="Grachek">{{cite journal|first=Julie E.|last=Grachek|title=The Insanity Defense in the Twenty-First Century: How Recent United States Supreme Court Case Law Can Improve the System|volume=81|journal=Indiana Law Journal|pages=1479–1501|year=2006|url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1494&context=ilj}}</ref>{{rp|1484 & n.49}} and by 2006, only 14 states retained it.<ref>{{Cite court|litigants=Clark v. Arizona|vol=548|reporter=U.S.|opinion=735|date=2006|pinpoint=751|url=https://casetext.com/case/clark-v-arizona-4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128085132/https://casetext.com/case/clark-v-arizona-4|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 28, 2021}}</ref> Eighty percent of insanity-defense reforms between 1978 and 1990 occurred shortly after the Hinckley verdict.<ref name="Grachek"/>{{rp|1487 n.76}} In addition to restricting eligibility for the defense, many of these reforms shifted the burden of proof to the defendant.<ref name="insanity defense">{{cite web|first1=Gabe|last1=Hinkebein|url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/hinckleyinsanity.htm|title=The Hinckley Trial and the Insanity Defense|publisher=Law.umkc.edu|date=June 21, 1982|access-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914170410/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/hinckleyinsanity.htm|archive-date=September 14, 2008|df=mdy-all }}</ref>

For the first time, Congress passed a law stipulating the insanity test to be used in all federal criminal trials, the [[Insanity Defense Reform Act]] of 1984.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Gerald G.|last1=Ashdown|first2=Ronald J.|last2=Bacigal|first3=Adam M.|last3=Gershowitz|title=Cases and Comments on Criminal Law|page=1312|edition=10th|year=2017}}</ref> The IDRA excised the Model Penal Code's volitional element in favor of an exclusively cognitive test,<ref name="Grachek"/>{{rp|1484–85}} affording the insanity defense to a defendant who can show that, "at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts".<ref>{{cite journal|pages=913–956|title=Legal Indeterminacy in Insanity Cases: Clarifying Wrongfulness and Applying a Triadic Approach to Forensic Evaluations|journal=Hastings Law Journal|volume=67|url=https://repository.uclawsf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2435&context=faculty_scholarship|first1=Kate E.|last1=Bloch|first2=Jeffery|last2=Gould}}</ref>{{rp|945 n.76}} At the state level, [[Idaho]], [[Kansas]], [[Montana]], and [[Utah]] abolished the defense altogether.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Inc|first=US Legal|title=The Insanity Defense Among the States – Criminal Law|url=https://criminallaw.uslegal.com/defense-of-insanity/the-insanity-defense-among-the-states/|access-date=2024-06-08|website=criminallaw.uslegal.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

Hinckley's acquittal led to the popularization of the [[Insanity defense#Incompetency and mental illness|"guilty but mentally ill" (GBMI) verdict]],<ref name="Jacewicz">{{cite news|work=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/02/486632201/guilty-but-mentally-ill-doesnt-protect-against-harsh-sentences|title='Guilty But Mentally Ill' Doesn't Protect Against Harsh Sentences|first=Natalie|last=Jacewicz|date=August 2, 2016}}</ref> typically used when a defendant's mental illness did not result in sufficient impairment to warrant insanity. A defendant receiving a GBMI verdict generally receives an identical sentence to a defendant receiving a guilty verdict, but the designation allows for a medical evaluation and treatment.<ref name="Grachek"/>{{rp|1485}} Studies have suggested that jurors often favor a GBMI verdict, considering it to be a compromise.<ref name="Jacewicz"/>

Changes in federal and some state [[evidence (law)|rules of evidence]] laws have since excluded or restricted the use of testimony of an expert witness, such as a [[psychologist]] or [[psychiatrist]], regarding conclusions on "ultimate" issues in insanity defense cases, including whether a criminal defendant is legally "insane",<ref>{{cite journal|title=Barring ultimate issue testimony|doi=10.1007/BF01650291|volume=15|issue=5|journal=Law and Human Behavior|pages=495–507|date=October 1991|last1=Finkel|first1=Norman J.|last2=Fulero|first2=Solomon M.|s2cid=141348727}}</ref> but this is not the rule in most states.<ref>C. McCormick, ''Evidence'' (3d Ed.) §&nbsp;12, p. 30.</ref>

==Treatment==
[[File:Center building at Saint Elizabeths, August 23, 2006.jpg|thumb|The Center Building at [[St. Elizabeths Hospital|St. Elizabeths]], 2006]]
Hinckley was confined at [[St. Elizabeths Hospital]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Famous Trials"/> After Hinckley was admitted, tests found that he was an "unpredictably dangerous" man who might harm himself or any third party. In 1983, he told ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'' that on a normal day he would "see a therapist, answer mail, play guitar, listen to music, play pool, watch television, eat lousy food and take delicious medication".<ref name="Noe"/>{{rp|12}}

Around 1986, Hinckley and the hospital began seeking various conditional releases,<ref name="Barker">{{Cite news|last=Barker|first=Karlyn|date=March 25, 1986|title=Hinckley Request for New Privileges Denied|language=en-US|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/03/25/hinckley-request-for-new-privileges-denied/6a625da6-8c05-4a8a-b5b7-635b55acc9e1/|access-date=March 30, 2023|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> which required judicial authorization.<ref name="2003 case">{{cite court|litigants=United States v. Hinckley|vol=292|reporter=F. Supp. 2d|opinion=125|court=[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|D.D.C.]]|date=2003|url=https://cite.case.law/f-supp-2d/292/125/|quote=In the 21 years since John W. Hinckley, Jr. was committed to St. Elizabeths Hospital, both he and the Hospital have at various times []sought some form of release from the Court. In both 1987 and 1988, the Hospital requested that Mr. Hinckley be released into the community under the supervision of Hospital staff, but both requests were withdrawn after the Hospital became aware that Mr. Hinckley had withheld information from the staff and had been deceptive.}}</ref>{{rp|127–33}} The Reagan family frequently spoke out against these requests.<ref name="Harris Release">{{cite news|first=Gardiner|last=Harris|title=John Hinckley, Who Tried to Kill Reagan, Will Be Released|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=July 27, 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/us/hinckley-who-tried-to-kill-reagan-to-be-released.html}}</ref><ref name="Arena & Frieden">{{cite news|work=[[CNN]]|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/17/hinckley.decision/index.html|first1=Kelli|last1=Arena|first2=Terry|last2=Frieden|title=Hinckley wins unsupervised visits|date=December 18, 2003}}</ref> In 1986, a judge denied Hinckley's request to be transferred to a less restrictive ward.<ref name="Barker"/> In 1987, the hospital requested that Hinckley be given a 12-hour unescorted pass, allowing Hinckley to visit his parents on Easter. Glenn Miller, who had performed the initial evaluation of Hinckley, testified, "I do not believe he's suicidal, I do not believe he's a danger to Jodie Foster, I do not believe he's a danger to Mr. Reagan or Mr. Brady."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|title=Doctor, Backing Hinckley, Tells of Letter to Murderer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/14/us/doctor-backing-hinckley-tells-of-letter-to-murderer.html|date=April 14, 1987|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>

But Miller also revealed that Hinckley had written to serial killer [[Ted Bundy]], sought the address of [[Charles Manson]], and received a letter from Manson family member [[Lynette Fromme]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hinckley is Told to Surrender All Correspondence|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=April 15, 1987|first=Kenneth B.|last=Noble|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/15/us/hinckley-is-told-to-surrender-all-correspondence.html}}</ref> The hospital subsequently withdrew the request for "administrative" reasons, though it emphasized that the "clinical" assessment was unchanged.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/04/16/st-es-withdraws-request-for-hinckley-easter-leave/f69f0a0a-4118-4246-a8f8-c8c594c1dea7/|title=St. E's Withdraws Request for Hinckley Easter Leave|first=Nancy|last=Lewis|date=April 16, 1987}}</ref> In 1992, Hinckley again submitted a request for additional privileges, but he later withdrew that request.<ref>{{Cite court|litigants=United States v. Hinckley|vol=967|reporter=F. Supp.|opinion=557|court=[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|D.D.C.]]|date=1997|url=https://casetext.com/case/us-v-hinckley-4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514152844/https://casetext.com/case/us-v-hinckley-4|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 14, 2023}}</ref>{{rp|, 558 & n.1}} During this period, St. Elizabeths gradually expanded Hinckley's privileges, by allowing off-site trips under custodial supervision.<ref name="2003 case"/>{{rp|128–29}}

In 2003, Hinckley, for the first time, received judicial approval for a release proposal: six local day visits under the supervision of his parents and, upon the successful completion and evaluation of those day visits, two local overnight visits under parental supervision.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=United States v. Hinckley|vol=625|reporter=F. Supp. 2d|opinion=3|court=[[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|D.D.C.]]|date=2009|url=https://casetext.com/case/us-v-hinckley-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514152843/https://casetext.com/case/us-v-hinckley-16|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 14, 2023|pinpoint=5}}</ref><ref name="Arena & Frieden"/> On June 17, 2009, Judge Friedman ruled that Hinckley would be permitted to visit his mother for a dozen visits of 10 days at a time, rather than six, to spend more time outside of the hospital, and to have a driver's license. The court ordered that Hinckley be required to carry a GPS-enabled cell phone to track him whenever he was outside of his parents' home. He was prohibited from speaking with the news media.<ref name=CNN>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/26/hinckley.today/index.html|title=Doctors: Reagan shooter is recovering, not a danger|first=James|last=Polk|date=March 26, 2011|website=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|access-date=March 26, 2011|archive-date=May 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517174439/http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/26/hinckley.today/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Prosecutors objected to this ruling, saying that Hinckley was still a danger to others and had unhealthy and inappropriate thoughts about women. Hinckley had recorded a song, "Ballad of an Outlaw", which the prosecutors claimed was "reflecting suicide and lawlessness".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/17/john.hinckley/index.html|title=Court gives would-be assassin John Hinckley more freedom|website=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=June 17, 2009|access-date=June 17, 2009|archive-date=June 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619003055/http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/17/john.hinckley/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 29, 2011, the day before the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt, Hinckley's attorney filed a court petition requesting more freedom for his client, including additional unsupervised visits to the Virginia home of Hinckley's mother, Jo Ann.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carter|first=Rusty|date=March 30, 2011|url=https://www.dailypress.com/2011/03/30/man-who-attempted-to-assassinate-reagan-wants-more-visits-to-williamsburg/|title=Man who attempted to assassinate Reagan wants more visits to Williamsburg|work=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]|publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]]|location=Newport News, Virginia|access-date=September 19, 2013|archive-date=June 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622022523/http://articles.dailypress.com/2011-03-30/news/dp-nws-williamsburg-hinckley-visits-020110330_1_attorney-barry-levine-john-hinckley-williamsburg-hinckley|url-status=live}}</ref> On November 30, 2011, a hearing in Washington was held to consider whether he could live full-time outside the hospital. The Justice Department opposed this, stating that Hinckley still poses a danger to the public. Justice Department counsel argued that Hinckley had been known to deceive his doctors in the past.<ref>{{cite web|first=Carrie|last=Johnson|date=November 30, 2011|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/11/30/142961328/john-hinckley-faces-hearing|title=Hearing May Grant John Hinckley More Privileges|website=[[NPR]]|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201185936/https://www.npr.org/2011/11/30/142961328/john-hinckley-faces-hearing|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Carol|last=Cratty|date=November 30, 2011|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/30/justice/hinckley-hearing/index.html|title=Lawyers for Hinckley say the presidential assailant is not dangerous|website=[[CNN]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]]|location=Atlanta, Georgia|access-date=December 1, 2011|archive-date=December 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201063251/http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/30/justice/hinckley-hearing/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By December 2013, the court ordered that visits be extended to his mother, who lives near Williamsburg. Hinckley was permitted up to eight 17-day visits, with evaluation after the completion of each one.<ref name="more-freedom">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/federal-judge-grants-more-freedom-to-reagans-would-be-assassin/2013/12/20/efdd2c60-68e9-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html|title=Federal judge grants more freedom to John Hinckley Jr., Reagan's would-be assassin|last1=Zapotosky|first1=Matt|date=December 20, 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=March 10, 2014|last2=Marimow|first2=Ann E.|archive-date=April 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408130458/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/federal-judge-grants-more-freedom-to-reagans-would-be-assassin/2013/12/20/efdd2c60-68e9-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Release and later activities===
On July 27, 2016, a federal judge ruled that Hinckley could be released from St. Elizabeths on August 5,<ref name=WashPost7.27.16>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr-to-be-freed-after-35-years/2016/07/27/04142084-5015-11e6-a422-83ab49ed5e6a_story.html|title=Would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. to be freed after 35 years|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 27, 2016|first1=Spencer S.|last1=Hsu|first2=Ann E.|last2=Marimow|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=July 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728150911/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr-to-be-freed-after-35-years/2016/07/27/04142084-5015-11e6-a422-83ab49ed5e6a_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> as he was no longer considered a threat to himself or others.<ref name=WashPost7.27.16/><ref name=NBC2018>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-can-move-n937471|title=Judge rules would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley can move out of his mother's house|work=[[NBCNews.com]]|publisher=[[NBCUniversal]]|location=New York City|date=November 16, 2018|access-date=November 17, 2018|archive-date=November 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117102535/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-can-move-n937471|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Carrie|title=John Hinckley, Who Tried To Kill A President, Wins His Freedom|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/27/487595220/john-hinckley-who-tried-to-kill-a-president-wins-his-freedom|newspaper=NPR|date=July 27, 2016|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=July 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727215856/http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/27/487595220/john-hinckley-who-tried-to-kill-a-president-wins-his-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Todd|first1=Brian|last2=Schelifer|first2=Theodore|title=John Hinckley Jr. set to be released|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/27/politics/john-hinckley-jr-set-to-be-released/|publisher=CNN|date=July 27, 2016|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=July 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728153714/http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/27/politics/john-hinckley-jr-set-to-be-released/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Judge grants John Hinckley Jr. his freedom decades after Reagan assassination attempt|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-grants-john-hinckley-jr-his-freedom-decades-after-reagan-assassination-attempt|publisher=Fox News|date=July 27, 2016|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616030122/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/07/27/judge-grants-john-hinckley-jr-his-freedom-decades-after-reagan-assassination-attempt.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Patti Davis]], one of Reagan's daughters, and then-presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]] both denounced Hinckley's release.<ref name="Harris Release"/>

Hinckley was released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016, with many conditions—including that he was required to live full-time at his mother's home in [[Williamsburg, Virginia]], to work at least three days a week and record his browser history.<ref name="BBC stipulations"/> He was also prohibited from a variety of activities, including contacting the Reagan, Brady, or Foster families; watching or listening to violent media; accessing pornography; and speaking to the press.<ref name="BBC stipulations">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37328612|title=Stipulations for John Hinckley Jr.' s release|date=September 10, 2016|work=[[BBC World News]]|access-date=September 10, 2016|archive-date=September 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911135630/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37328612|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/judges-opinion-in-hinckley-case/2102/|title=Judge's opinion in Hinckley case|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=July 27, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-date=December 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227214542/http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/local/judges-opinion-in-hinckley-case/2102/|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2018, Judge Friedman ruled Hinckley could move out of his mother's house in Virginia and live on his own, upon location approval from his doctors.<ref name=NBC2018/>

In September 2019, Hinckley's attorney stated that he planned to ask for full, unconditional release from the court orders that determined how he could live by the end of 2019.<ref>{{cite news|first=Devan|last=Cole|publisher=CNN|date=September 10, 2019|title=John Hinckley Jr. to seek unconditional release by end of year|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/politics/john-hinckley-unconditional-release-motion/index.html|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922024743/https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/10/politics/john-hinckley-unconditional-release-motion/index.html|url-status=live }}</ref> On September 27, 2021, a federal judge approved Hinckley for unconditional release, beginning June 2022.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|first=Carrie|last=Johnson|publisher=NPR|date=September 27, 2021|title=John Hinckley, Who Shot President Reagan, Wins Unconditional Release|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/27/1040872498/john-hinckley-unconditional-release|access-date=September 27, 2021|archive-date=September 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927162040/https://www.npr.org/2021/09/27/1040872498/john-hinckley-unconditional-release|url-status=live }}</ref> [[Michael Reagan]], Reagan's son, spoke out in favor of the decision,<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Reagan|author-link=Michael Reagan|title=I'm sticking with my father — he forgave John Hinckley Jr. So do I: Michael Reagan|work=[[New Jersey Herald]]|date=October 4, 2021|url=https://www.njherald.com/story/opinion/2021/10/04/michael-reagan-forgive-john-hinckley/5990270001/}}</ref> while Davis again denounced it.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|first=Patti|last=Davis|title=John Hinckley is now free, but I can't forget the day he shot my father|department=Opinion|date=September 27, 2021|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/27/patti-davis-john-hinckley-free-terror-reagan/}}</ref> On June 15, 2022, Hinckley was fully released from court restrictions.<ref>{{cite news|first=Vanessa|last=Romo|publisher=NPR|date=June 15, 2022|title=John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Reagan, is granted full release|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1105370016/john-hinckley-who-tried-to-assassinate-president-reagan-is-granted-full-release|access-date=June 19, 2022|archive-date=June 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619054530/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1105370016/john-hinckley-who-tried-to-assassinate-president-reagan-is-granted-full-release|url-status=live }}</ref> In a June 2022 interview with CBS, Hinckley expressed remorse for his actions, and apologized to the Reagan and Brady families, as well as Jodie Foster.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k46rWLMXoHc|title=John Hinckley Jr. apologizes for 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan|via=[[YouTube]]|publisher=[[CBS Mornings]]|author=Major Garrett, John Hinckley Jr|date=June 28, 2022|accessdate=November 19, 2023}}</ref>

On July 17, 2024, following the [[Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania|attempted assassination of Donald Trump]], Hinckley tweeted, "Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance."<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=JohnHinckley20|number=1813618282500653337|title=Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance.}}</ref>

==Depiction in media==
{{Refexample section|date=May 2023}}
[[Phoenix, Arizona]] [[hardcore punk]] band [[JFA (band)|Jodie Foster's Army]] (JFA) formed in 1981 and their name was a reference to the assassination attempt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcjamrecords.com/jfa/|title=DC-Jam Records|website=www.dcjamrecords.com|access-date=May 11, 2022|archive-date=May 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509010657/http://www.dcjamrecords.com/JFA|url-status=live}}</ref> Their [[eponym]]ous song referred to Hinckley.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Jfa-jfa-jodie-fosters-army-lyrics|title=JFA – JFA (Jodie Foster's Army)|via=genius.com|access-date=April 17, 2022|archive-date=April 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417204913/https://genius.com/Jfa-jfa-jodie-fosters-army-lyrics|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ohio]] [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Devo]] recorded the song "I Desire" for their fifth studio album, ''[[Oh, No! It's Devo]]'' (1982), which brought the band controversy because the lyrics were taken directly from a poem written by Hinckley.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/song-stories/i-desire-devo|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140110182024/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/song-stories/i-desire-devo|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2014|title=I Desire|magazine=[[Rolling Stone|rollingstone.com]]|access-date=July 27, 2016}}</ref> Hinckley has claimed that he has not received [[Royalty payment|royalties]] for the use of his poem by them.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Blistein|first=Jon|date=October 27, 2021|title=Devo Don't Know If Would-Be Reagan Assassin Got Royalties for 'I Desire,' But It's Also Not Their Problem|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/devo-dont-know-if-would-be-reagan-assassin-got-royalties-for-i-desire-but-its-also-not-their-problem-1248934/|access-date=February 22, 2022|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=February 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222163849/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/devo-dont-know-if-would-be-reagan-assassin-got-royalties-for-i-desire-but-its-also-not-their-problem-1248934/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1984, [[Lansing]], [[Michigan]] hardcore band [[the Crucifucks]] recorded "Hinkley {{sic}} Had a Vision", which expressed a desire to kill the president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Crucifucks-hinkley-had-a-vision-lyrics|title=Crucifucks – Hinkley Had A Vision|via=genius.com}}</ref> Another [[New wave music|new wave]] band, [[Wall of Voodoo]], released a song about Hinckley and his life titled "[[Far Side of Crazy]]" (1985), with the name also being a quotation from his poetry.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Drain|first=Heather|title=Devil in the Woods: Love, Lust, Death & Life in 1980s American Post-Punk Part Two – The Seven Days in the West Edition – Diabolique Magazine|date=September 2016|url=https://diaboliquemagazine.com/devil-woods-love-lust-death-life-1980s-american-post-punk-part-two-seven-days-west-edition/|access-date=October 29, 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=November 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130225112/https://diaboliquemagazine.com/devil-woods-love-lust-death-life-1980s-american-post-punk-part-two-seven-days-west-edition/|url-status=live}}</ref> Singer-songwriter [[Carmaig de Forest]] devoted a verse of his song "Hey Judas" to Hinckley, blaming him for Reagan's increased popularity following the assassination attempt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thelifeofthemind.blogspot.com/2004/06/for-ronald-reagan-1911-2004-hey-judas.html|title=The Life of the Mind|language=en|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503180853/http://thelifeofthemind.blogspot.com/2004/06/for-ronald-reagan-1911-2004-hey-judas.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/uLLKm9B5Zck Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190908212043/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLLKm9B5Zck&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=Robert Harker|title=Hey Judas – Carmaig de Forest|date=August 16, 2018|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLLKm9B5Zck|access-date=May 3, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Hinckley is featured as a character of the [[Stephen Sondheim]] and [[John Weidman]] musical ''[[Assassins (musical)|Assassins]]'' (1990), in which he and [[Squeaky Fromme|Lynette Fromme]] sing "Unworthy of Your Love", a duet about their respective obsessions with Foster and [[Charles Manson]]. Hinckley's life leading up to the assassination attempt is fictionalized in the 2015 novel ''Calf'' by [[Andrea Kleine]]. The novel includes a fictionalization of Hinckley's former girlfriend, Leslie deVeau, whom he met at St. Elizabeths Hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59376-619-1|title=Fiction Book Review: Calf by Andrea Kleine|work=publishersweekly.com|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=October 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013054456/http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59376-619-1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Duhr|first1=David|title=Fiction review: 'Calf,' by Andrea Kleine|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/books/20151023-fiction-review-calf-by-andrea-kleine.ece|publisher=The Dallas Morning News|date=October 23, 2015|access-date=July 28, 2016|archive-date=August 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817033115/http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/books/20151023-fiction-review-calf-by-andrea-kleine.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Marchand|first1=Philip|title=Find Comfort with the Strange in Andrea Kleine's Calf|url=http://www.pressreader.com/canada/national-post-latest-edition/20151212/283386240837388|publisher=National Post|date=December 12, 2015|access-date=July 28, 2016|archive-date=August 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816131542/http://www.pressreader.com/canada/national-post-latest-edition/20151212/283386240837388|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hinckley is portrayed by Steven Flynn in the 1991 American television film ''[[Without Warning: The James Brady Story]]''. Hinckley appears as a character in the 2001 television film ''[[The Day Reagan Was Shot]]'', portrayed by Christian Lloyd. He was portrayed by Kevin Woodhouse in the 2003 television film ''[[The Reagans]]''. Hinckley is portrayed by Kyle S. More in the 2016 movie ''[[Killing Reagan (film)|Killing Reagan]]''. In the 2018 TV series ''[[Timeless (American TV series)|Timeless]]'', he is portrayed by [[Erik Stocklin]].<ref>[https://2paragraphs.com/2018/05/who-plays-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-jr-on-timeless "Who Plays Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. on ''Timeless''?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711025449/https://2paragraphs.com/2018/05/who-plays-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-jr-on-timeless/|date=July 11, 2021 }}, 2Paragraphs.com, May 6, 2018, accessed June 12, 2020</ref> Hinckley is portrayed by Lauden Baker in the 2024 film ''[[Reagan (2024 film)|Reagan]]''.

A skit on the sketch comedy show ''[[The Whitest Kids U' Know]]'' that satirized the presidency of Ronald Reagan depicted a fictionalized version of Hinckley.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rozsa|first=Matthew|date=November 2, 2020|title=The "Whitest Kids U Know" — a cult classic comedy group whose sketches eerily foresaw the Trump era|url=https://www.salon.com/2020/11/02/the-whitest-kids-u-know-sketches-trump/|access-date=July 2, 2022|website=Salon|language=en|archive-date=July 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702094952/https://www.salon.com/2020/11/02/the-whitest-kids-u-know-sketches-trump/|url-status=live }}</ref>

Transgressive punk rock singer [[GG Allin]] was arrested by the [[US Secret Service]] in [[Illinois]] in September 1989 after he corresponded with Hinckley and they discovered he had an outstanding arrest warrant for assault in [[Michigan]].<ref>[https://aadl.org/sites/default/files/aa_news/aa_news_19891026-assault_case_against.jpg Assault case against performer delayed] October 26, 1989</ref>

==Songwriting, performance, and art==
As a young adult, Hinckley made unsuccessful efforts to become a songwriter. Years later, he posted music online anonymously but received little interest.<ref name=Washingtonian6.1.21>{{Cite web|last=Baker|first=Damare|date=June 1, 2021|title=John Hinckley Jr., the Man Who Shot Reagan, Has a YouTube Channel Where He Sings His Own Songs|url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/06/01/john-hinckley-jr-the-man-who-shot-reagan-has-a-youtube-channel-where-he-sings-his-own-songs/|access-date=February 22, 2022|website=Washingtonian|language=en-US|archive-date=September 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927190732/https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/06/01/john-hinckley-jr-the-man-who-shot-reagan-has-a-youtube-channel-where-he-sings-his-own-songs/|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2020, a federal court ruled that Hinckley may showcase and market his artwork, writings, and music publicly under his own name, but his treatment team could rescind the display privilege.<ref>{{cite news|last=Finley|first=Ben|date=October 28, 2020|title=Judge allows John Hinckley to publicly display his artwork|publisher=AP News|url=https://apnews.com/article/john-hinckley-ronald-reagan-james-brady-0eadd89ddb858443c59c9dd84aaecc04|access-date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029005211/https://apnews.com/article/john-hinckley-ronald-reagan-james-brady-0eadd89ddb858443c59c9dd84aaecc04|url-status=live}}</ref> Hinckley created a [[YouTube]] channel where, since December 2020, he has posted videos of himself performing original songs with a guitar and covers of songs such as "[[Blowin' in the Wind]]" by [[Bob Dylan]], and the [[Elvis Presley]] song "[[Can't Help Falling in Love]]".<ref name=Washingtonian6.1.21/><ref name="youtube2">{{cite news|last=Blauner|first=McCaffrey|date=May 31, 2021|title=John Hinckley Jr. Is Posting His Love Songs on YouTube|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-hinckley-jr-would-be-assassin-of-ronald-reagan-is-posting-his-love-songs-on-youtube|access-date=June 1, 2021|newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]]|archive-date=January 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104051054/https://www.thedailybeast.com/john-hinckley-jr-would-be-assassin-of-ronald-reagan-is-posting-his-love-songs-on-youtube|url-status=live}}</ref> His subscribers totaled over 41,000 by March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Hinckley – YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCck3J5KR3INUP1K-hrBe8iA|access-date=December 26, 2021|website=www.youtube.com|archive-date=February 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201113142/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCck3J5KR3INUP1K-hrBe8iA|url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 6, 2021, Hinckley stated in a YouTube video that he was working on an album and looking for a record label to release it.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/SEdwGHDOWsI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20210610013245/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEdwGHDOWsI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=John Hinckley Sings "Mr. Tambourine Man" Bob Dylan Cover|date=June 6, 2021|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEdwGHDOWsI|access-date=June 10, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Hinckley announced in December 2021 that the album would be released in early 2022 on Emporia Records, a label he founded to "[release] the music of others, music that needs to be heard".<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=JohnHinckley20|number=14765403903920|date=December 30, 2021|title=I've started a record label called Emporia Records. The first release is a 14 song CD of my music. It will be available in late January through the P.O. Box I've set up. I will also be releasing the music of others, music that needs to be heard.}}</ref>

On October 7, 2021, Hinckley self-published his first single called "We Have Got That Chemistry" onto streaming platforms.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/3RJT9nJT-HU Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211110190739/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RJT9nJT-HU&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=John Hinckley Releases Single on Streaming Sites|date=October 7, 2021|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RJT9nJT-HU|language=en|access-date=October 13, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On November 10, 2021, Hinckley self-published another single called "You Let Whiskey Do Your Talking" onto multiple streaming platforms.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/yI23M7EXgko Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211120052653/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI23M7EXgko Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|title=John Hinckley Releases New Single, "You Let Whiskey Do Your Talking"|date=November 10, 2021|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI23M7EXgko|language=en|access-date=November 21, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Hinckley has also continued to release other original songs on his [[YouTube]] channel.

In January 2022, Hinckley announced that he was looking for members for his own band.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Strozewski|first=Zoe|date=January 19, 2022|title=Attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. is starting a band and looking for musicians|url=https://www.newsweek.com/attempted-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-jr-starting-band-looking-musicians-1670767|access-date=February 22, 2022|website=Newsweek|language=en|archive-date=February 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222163850/https://www.newsweek.com/attempted-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-jr-starting-band-looking-musicians-1670767|url-status=live}}</ref>

On June 15, 2022, after his restrictions were unconditionally lifted, it was announced that what would have been Hinckley's first live performance in front of a physically present audience at a [[Brooklyn, New York]] venue had been canceled over security concerns for "vulnerable communities" after it had received threats.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/john-hinckley-jr-concert-canceled-1235295938/|title=John Hinckley Jr. Sold-Out Concert Canceled by Brooklyn Venue: 'It is Not Worth a Gamble'|date=June 16, 2022|access-date=June 16, 2022|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616083411/https://variety.com/2022/music/news/john-hinckley-jr-concert-canceled-1235295938/|url-status=live }}</ref> Three other planned concerts that summer, in [[Chicago]], [[Hamden, Connecticut]], and [[Williamsburg, Virginia]] were cancelled because of threats to the venues. In July 2022 [[Asbestos Records]] decided to release some of Hinckley's songs on vinyl later that year.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Guarino|first=Mark|date=August 13, 2022|title=The man who shot Reagan wants to play concerts. It's not going well.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/13/john-hinckley-reagan-concert/|access-date=August 18, 2022|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819085237/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/13/john-hinckley-reagan-concert/|url-status=live }}</ref> The album was released on July 12, 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boingboing.net/2023/07/13/john-hinckley-jr-would-be-assassin-of-ronald-reagan-signs-record-deal-for-debut-vinyl-album.html|title=John Hinckley Jr, would-be assassin of Ronald Reagan, signs record deal for debut vinyl album|date=July 13, 2023 }}</ref>

Following his release, Hinckley took up painting, using his pet cat as a reference. As of May 2023, he had sold several pieces on [[eBay]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Wilkerson, Sian|title=Would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. embarks on new journey: a songwriting career and selling art on eBay|url=https://www.dailypress.com/2023/05/12/would-be-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-jr-embarks-on-new-journey-a-songwriting-career-and-selling-art-on-ebay/|language=en-US|url-status=live|newspaper=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]|date=May 12, 2023|access-date=July 19, 2024|archive-date=January 16, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240116223823/https://www.dailypress.com/2023/05/12/would-be-reagan-assassin-john-hinckley-jr-embarks-on-new-journey-a-songwriting-career-and-selling-art-on-ebay/}}</ref>

In December 2024, Hinckley announced he would open a music store in Williamsburg, Virginia,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sforza |first1=Lauren |title=Man who tried killing Ronald Reagan announces business plans |url=https://www.silive.com/nation/2024/12/man-who-tried-killing-ronald-reagan-announces-business-plans.html |website=SILive.com |date=December 2, 2024 |access-date=3 December 2024}}</ref> but these plans were quickly scrapped by Hinckley due to negative publicity and security concerns.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knight |first1=Ashley|title=Hinckley scraps music store in wake of negative reaction |url=https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/virginia/hinckley-scraps-music-store-in-wake-of-negative-reaction/ |website=DC News Now |date=December 9, 2024 |access-date=9 December 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[United States federal laws governing defendants with mental diseases or defects]]
* [[John Schrank]] (attempted Theodore Roosevelt 1912)
* [[Samuel Byck]] (attempted Nixon 1974)
* [[Lynette Fromme]] (attempted Ford 1975)
* [[Sara Jane Moore]] (attempted Ford 1975)
* [[Vladimir Arutyunian]] (attempted Bush 2005)
* [[Thomas Matthew Crooks]] (attempted Trump 2024)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Clarke, James W. (2006). ''Defining Danger: American Assassins and the New Domestic Terrorists''.
* Clarke, James W. (1990). ''On Being Mad or Merely Angry: John W. Hinckley Jr. and Other Dangerous People''. [[Princeton University Press]].
* Hinckley, John W. (September 20, 1982). "The Insanity Defense and Me". ''[[Newsweek]]''.

==External links==
{{Commons category|John Hinckley, Jr.}}
* {{YouTube|channel=UCck3J5KR3INUP1K-hrBe8iA}}
* {{Twitter|JohnHinckley20}}
* {{cite web|last1=Treaster|first1=Joseph B.|title=A Life That Started out with Much Promise Took Reclusive and Hostile Path |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/01/us/a-life-that-started-out-with-much-promise-took-reclusive-and-hostile-path.html|website=The New York Times|page=A19|date=April 1, 1981|quote=The eldest Hinckley child, Scott, 30, is the vice president of the his [sic] father's company and a friend of Neil Bush, the son of Vice President Bush. Scott Hinckley and a date had been invited to dinner at the young Bushes' home last night, but the dinner was canceled after the shooting.}}
* Linder, Douglas (2002). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070302175356/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/HINCKLEY.HTM The Trial of John Hinckley Jr.] [[University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law]].
* Dean, Eddie (July 25, 1997). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090416160047/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=13128 "Stalking Hinckley"]. ''[[Washington City Paper]]''.
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/the-1981-reagan-assassination-attempt/2016/07/27/f471211c-5402-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd_video.html Footage of the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt]

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