John Hinckley Jr., Who Shot President Ronald Reagan in Failed Assassination Attempt, to Play Sold Out NYC Concert

Leia IdlibyApr 14th, 2022, 10:11 am
 

John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 during a failed assassination attempt, has sold out a concert in Brooklyn this summer.

“Big news!! I will be performing on July 8 at the Market Hotel in Brooklyn, NY. Get your tickets while you can,” announced on Twitter.

According to the venue’s website, tickets were priced at $20 and are now sold out.

While Hinckley attempted to assassinate the president roughly 40 years ago, he is now a singer and guitarist who has more than 26,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Hinckley has been posting both original songs and covers of artists including Joni Mitchell, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan since 2020 — and now he’s selling out shows in New York City.

Market Hotel faced some pushback for hosting Hinckley despite his past, which prompted a response from the venue’s official Twitter account.

“The man served 40 years in prison / mental health treatment, paid his debt to society,” read the statement. “Several darlings of indie music had mental health issues + committed violence / tried to kill people. Daniel Johnston for instance attempted murder more than once and tried to crash an airplane.”

Although Hinckley failed to assassinate Reagan in a reported attempt to impress Jodie Foster, the shooting paralyzed Reagan press secretary James Brady and injured Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty.

Hinckley was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, where he resided and was treated for more than three decades.

Hinckley was released from the hospital in 2016 and his restrictions were lessened. He will be relieved of all remaining restrictions in June 2022.

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