Failed Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. to Be Released from Court Supervision

John Hinckley Jr., the failed assassin who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others just months into his presidency in 1981 will be free of court supervision on June 15.

On Wednesday, a hearing was held “to ensure Hinckley was continuing to do well” in the Virginia community where he resides following U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia Paul L. Friedman’s September ruling to lift the “remaining restrictions” on his release, the Associated Press (AP) reported. A caveat to the decision was that the restrictions would remain in place until June 15.

“He’s been scrutinized. He’s passed every test. He’s no longer a danger to himself or others,” Friedman said Wednesday, according to the AP.

The federal judge also stated that he is “confident that Mr. Hinckley will do well in the years remaining to him,” adding that it is “time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will.” 

In a statement, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced it was “both saddened and concerned” about the failed assassin’s “unconditional release.”

In 1981, Hinckley shot Reagan, White House press secretary James Brady, a secret service agent, and a police officer in Washinton, DC, as Breitbart News previosuly noted: 

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton after making a speech to the AFL-CIO conference. Just before making it to his presidential limousine, Hinkley opened fire striking the President in the chest. Press Secretary Brady was struck in the right side of his head. The two law enforcement officers were also struck by his bullets.

Both Brady and Officer Delahanty received permanent disabilities from their wounds. When Brady eventually died in 2014, his death was ruled as being connected to the shooting and was classified as a homicide. Delahanty was forced to retire from the police department. He still lives in the Washington, D.C. area. Agent McCarthy, the fourth Secret Service agent to actually “take a bullet for the president,” was shot in the abdomen and fully recovered from his wound. He retired from the Secret Service in 1993.

Hinckley’s trial culminated with a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity.

In 2016 Hinckley was conditionally released from a mental hospital following a ruling by Friedman. In the days after the decision, Jim Kuhn, who served as a personal aide to Reagan during his time as president, told Breitbart News that the “whole thing is flawed.”

“The whole thing to me is insane that insane people would be released to the streets of the United States,” he said.

Hinckley, who “now claims to be a singer-songwriter” has booked a July 8 show at the Market Hotel in Brooklyn, New York, which is reportedly sold out, as Breitbart News noted.