Former President Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin John Hinckley, Jr. will be unconditionally released from all existing legal restrictions in June, and he’s going to pursue a career as a paid musician quickly afterward.
According to Newsweek, the 66-year-old will be performing at the Market Hotel in New York City on July 8, over 40 years after he attempted to kill Reagan in order to impress actress Jodie Foster. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity but was in psychiatric care until 2016, the outlet reported, and he has since gone viral online for his singing and guitar skills.
“If he hadn’t tried to kill the president, he would have been unconditionally released a long, long, long time ago,” Judge Paul L. Friedman said during the Sept. 2021 hearing that granted him free of restrictions, according to the Associated Press.
“But everybody is comfortable now after all of the studies, all of the analysis and all of the interviews, and all of the experience with Mr. Hinckley.”
While it’s certainly a good thing that he got the mental health care he needed, something seems off about this concert scenario. It’s one thing to listen to Hinckley play music on YouTube, but it’s another to pay him money to watch him perform live.
Who is the type of person paying to watch this? Are they simply curious about his character arc and might genuinely enjoy his music? Or is this the left granting Hinckley some form of martyrdom for injuring and almost murdering Reagan and his staff?
Naturally, one has to wonder if there is somebody behind the scenes who might be profiting off of Hinckley’s name and talents.
At the very least, the Market Hotel itself is cause for concern.
After a Twitter user criticized Hinckley’s upcoming live performance, the hotel went on a tirade against the user and the Reagan administration.
“The man served 40 years in prison / mental health treatment, paid his debt to society. 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,” they said in a now-deleted tweet, Fox News reported.
“Ha! Hinckley didn’t f**k up a billionth as many lives as the Reagan admin did And Hinckley at least faced some comeuppance for what he did,” the hotel later added. “He served 40 years, acknowledged his actions, expressed remorse, was out of his mind incapacitated when he did his crimes and got treatment.”
Well there you have it, folks, this still partly has to do with Reagan and the far left’s extreme disdain for their political opponents.
Even more bizarre is the fact that his July 8 concert may only be the first of many performances for Hinckley. While there is nothing wrong with his passion for music, it seems that the reason a lot of people will give him money could be political.
“Stay tuned for more dates added to The John Hinckley Redemption Tour,” he tweeted Wednesday.
Stay tuned for more dates added to The John Hinckley Redemption Tour. pic.twitter.com/XvRFB5SmCi
— John Hinckley (@JohnHinckley20) April 13, 2022
It’s certainly a good thing that Hinckley seems to be in better mental health than in 1981, except that it is inappropriate for him to rebrand himself as a public figure and musician afterward, especially if it’s only for his own personal benefit.