Wednesday 3 August 2022 10:25 PM John Hinckley Jr. concert is canned six hours after he announced it due to ... trends now
John Hinckley Jr. announced he would perform a free concert at a Virginia library this fall but it was canned just six hours later after the venue claimed it had received 'hostile' messages for hosting the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.
Hinckley posted on Twitter early Tuesday that the concert will be held November 4 at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre. Now, the library is saying the show is canceled.
The library wrote in a statement to the Richmond Times-Dispatch that 'based on the tenor of the communications the library received, it became evident that this event would be disruptive to library operations.'
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity after he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He remained under institutional psychiatric care before his conditional release in 2016, and in his mother's care until her 2021 death led to his unconditional release beginning in June.
Since his release in June, Hinckley has been has been trying to perform his music at venues around the country hoping to change the public's perspective of him.
John Hinckley Jr., 67, announced on Tuesday that he would be performing music at a Virginia library this fall but it was canceled just six hours later after the library received 'hostile comments' about hosting the man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Regan in 1981
Hinckley posted on Twitter early Tuesday that the concert will be held November 4 at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre. Now, the library is saying the show is canceled
The canceled November show at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre adds up to four venues that have now backed out on Hinckley, according to his tweet.
He previously announced his 'Redemption Tour,' which included three shows in Chicago, Connecticut and Brooklyn, New York, but they were all canceled.
Hinckley then posted a plea on Twitter, asking for a venue that would host him.
'I'm looking for a music venue that won't cave when there's backlash,' he wrote.
On August 2, the library accepted Hinckley's application for rental of the Williamsburg Library Theatre - the same day he announced the free show on Twitter.
But six hours later, the library officially canceled the event after receiving 'hostile comments through chat and email,' according to the statement.
'This alerted us that the concert was clearly going to become a major disruption to library operations that would impact our ability to serve our community.'
The Williamsburg Regional Library wrote in a statement to the Richmond Times-Dispatch that 'based on the tenor of the communications the library received, it became evident that this event would be disruptive to library operations'
Hinckley is an aspiring artist, who plays guitar and sings. He has been uploading his music to YouTube and has amassed about 27,000 subscribers. Hinckley's 'Redemption Tour' in three cities has since been canceled due to safety concerns
Hinckley was 25 and suffering from acute psychosis when he fired a .22 long rifle bullet that ricocheted off the presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the torso, puncturing a lung and causing serious internal bleeding outside a Washington hotel.
The assassination attempt also paralyzed White House Press Secretary James Brady, who died in 2014, and whose death was ruled a homicide from a gunshot wound and its consequences - Hinckley was not charged for it. He also wounded a police officer and a Secret Service agent.
Hinckley said he was desperate to impress actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver.
At his trial, a jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity and he spent more than 30 years at a mental hospital in Washington. He left the hospital in 2016 to be taken care of by his mother and had been placed under heavy restrictions, such as not being able to own a gun and not be able to contact the victim's family or Foster.
He told Nightline that being criminally insane is 'not incurable,' and that he is now on antipsychotic medication and anti-anxiety medication. He also does not fear that he will relapse, saying 'I still take my meds.'
Hinckley said that he prays for the Brady family nightly and hopes they have a good life, Nightline reported.
'If I could take it back, I surely would,' he told Nightline.
On the day of the attempted assassination in 1981, Reagan happily waved to Americans as he headed toward his car outside the Washington hotel before the attack. A bullet struck the president and left him with severe internal bleeding
A Secret Service agent and a police officer (pictured) were also injured. When Hinckley was asked about the Brady Law - named after the press secretary - he said he doesn't 'think the mentally ill should have access to guns'
Hinckley said he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster (pictured in 1981) when he attempted to assassinate Reagan
Now, he's trying to change the public's perspective of him and wants to focus on his music and moving forward in life - despite some of Reagan's close confidants being reluctant to accept his apology.
Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, called Hinckley a 'narcissist' in a September op-ed, published in the Washington Post, and said she doesn't 'believe that John Hinckley feels remorse.'
'I understand struggling for forgiveness, but it's like peering out from between the prison bars,' she wrote. She also said she feared he would
