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NY Times; Washington Post

John Hinckley, Who Attempted to Assassinate President Ronald Reagan to Impress Jodie Foster, Will Be Freed

Jul 28, 2016  •  Post A Comment

“John W. Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, will be allowed to live permanently with his elderly mother in Williamsburg, Va., leaving the psychiatric hospital where he has been imprisoned for several decades, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday,” reports The New York Times.

The Times also reports that Hinckley, 61, “must live with his mother for at least the first year and carry a cellphone that tracks his movements.”

The report adds, “Mr. Hinckley was once psychotic and depressed. After seeing the 1976 film ‘Taxi Driver,’ in which a disturbed man plots to assassinate a presidential candidate, he became fixated on Jodie Foster, who played a child prostitute in the film. Mr. Hinckley began to identify with the main character in the film, Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro.”

When Reagan became President, Hinckley tried to kill him. Notes the Washington Post, “Hinckley was 25 when he wounded Reagan, White House press secretary James Brady, U.S. Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty with six exploding “Devastator” bullets from a .22-caliber pistol. All survived the attack, but Brady was left paralyzed by a shot to his head and spent years before his death in 2014 advocating for gun control.”

4 Comments

  1. Is it just a coincidence that Trump surged in the polls?

  2. Can’t believe they’re letting that psycho go!!

  3. I am sure that his 90 year-old mother will keep him under control.

  4. What happens if John Hinkley’s 90-year-old mother dies before the year is up? Have any other arrangements been made if, or when, that occurs?

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