President Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt John Hinckley Jr. FBI Files

Description

Hinckley and the Reagan Assassination Attempt

Timeline of Events

• May 29, 1955: John Warnock Hinckley Jr. is born.
• 1976: John Hinckley Jr. drops out of college and moves to Los Angeles with aspirations of becoming a songwriter.
• Late 1970s (Believed): While in Los Angeles, Hinckley sees the movie “Taxi Driver” starring Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle at least 15 times. He becomes fixated on the character and the film’s themes.
• Around 1979-1980: Hinckley develops an obsession with actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in “Taxi Driver.”
• 1980: After learning that Jodie Foster is enrolled at Yale University, Hinckley travels to the school, leaves notes for her, and contacts her by phone twice.
• 1980: Following rejections from Jodie Foster, Hinckley begins to stalk President Jimmy Carter during his presidential campaign.
• 1980: While stalking President Jimmy Carter during a campaign stop in Nashville, Tennessee, Hinckley is arrested for possessing a handgun at the Nashville Airport.
• March 29, 1981: John Hinckley Jr. arrives in Washington, D.C., by bus and checks into the Park Central Hotel.
• March 30, 1981: President Ronald Reagan gives a luncheon speech to AFL-CIO union delegates at the Washington, D.C. Hilton.
• March 30, 1981: As President Reagan leaves the Washington Hilton Hotel, John Hinckley Jr., standing among a crowd of onlookers, fires six shots from a revolver.
• March 30, 1981: The gunfire hits President Ronald Reagan, police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and Press Secretary James Brady.
• March 30, 1981: John Hinckley Jr. is apprehended at the scene.
• Post-March 30, 1981: The FBI conducts an investigation into the assassination attempt, collecting evidence from various locations including the Washington Hilton Hotel, George Washington University Hospital, Hinckley’s parents’ home, and the Park Central Hotel. They also conduct interviews with witnesses and analyze fingerprints, handwriting, and the weapons involved.
• 1982: John Hinckley Jr.’s trial concludes with a jury finding him not guilty by reason of insanity.
• Post-1982: The verdict in Hinckley’s case leads many states to revise their laws concerning the criminal insanity defense.
• 1982 onwards: Hinckley is confined to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.
• 1999: Hinckley is granted the privilege of supervised visits with his parents.
• April 2000: Hinckley wins the right to have unsupervised furloughs.
• May 2000: Hinckley’s unsupervised furlough rights are revoked after a book about Jodie Foster is found in his room at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.
• December 17, 2003: U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman grants Hinckley the right to unsupervised visits with his parents.
• September 10, 2016: John Hinckley Jr. is released from institutional psychiatric care.

Cast of Characters

• John Warnock Hinckley Jr.: The individual who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. Born on May 29, 1955, he was a college dropout who briefly pursued songwriting in Los Angeles. He developed an intense obsession with the movie “Taxi Driver” and actress Jodie Foster, which is believed to have motivated his actions. He stalked Foster and, after being rejected, shifted his focus to political figures, first President Jimmy Carter and then President Ronald Reagan. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent several decades in a psychiatric hospital before being released.
• Ronald Reagan: The 40th President of the United States. He was the target of Hinckley’s assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, shortly after giving a speech. He was struck by a bullet but recovered from his injuries.
• James Brady: President Reagan’s Press Secretary. He was also shot during the assassination attempt and suffered severe and permanent injuries.
• Timothy McCarthy: A Secret Service agent assigned to President Reagan. He was shot while shielding the President during the attack but survived.
• Thomas Delahanty: A Washington D.C. police officer. He was shot in the back while responding to the gunfire outside the Hilton Hotel.
• Jodie Foster: A prominent actress who starred in the movie “Taxi Driver” as Iris. Hinckley developed an intense and unhealthy obsession with her character, believing that by assassinating a political figure, he could gain her attention and admiration.
• Travis Bickle: The main character in the movie “Taxi Driver,” played by Robert De Niro. Bickle is a mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran who becomes a vigilante. His actions in the film, including an attempt to assassinate a political figure and later a violent confrontation with a pimp, heavily influenced Hinckley’s thinking. The character was partially based on the failed assassin Arthur Bremer.
• Jimmy Carter: The 39th President of the United States. Prior to targeting Reagan, Hinckley stalked Carter during his 1980 presidential campaign and was arrested for possessing a handgun near him.
• Paul Schrader: The screenwriter of the movie “Taxi Driver.” The character of Travis Bickle, whom Hinckley fixated on, was created by Schrader and was partially inspired by Arthur Bremer.
• Robert De Niro: The actor who played Travis Bickle in the movie “Taxi Driver.” His portrayal of the disturbed character had a significant impact on John Hinckley Jr.
• Cybill Shepherd: The actress who played Betsy in the movie “Taxi Driver.” Travis Bickle becomes infatuated with her character before being rejected.
• Martin Scorsese: The director of the movie “Taxi Driver.” The film had a profound and disturbing influence on John Hinckley Jr.
• Arthur Bremer: The failed assassin who attempted to assassinate Governor George Wallace during a presidential campaign stop. The character of Travis Bickle in “Taxi Driver” was partially based on Bremer.
• Paul Friedman: The U.S. District Judge who, in 2003, granted Hinckley the right to unsupervised visits with his parents, indicating a stage in the legal and medical considerations of Hinckley’s confinement.

President Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt John Hinckley Jr. FBI Files

796 pages of FBI files summarizing the investigation conducted in the first several days after the March 30, 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

The FBI files contain: A detailed chronology of events. Listing of evidence seized at the Washington Hilton Hotel, George Washington University Hospital, Hinckley’s parent’s home in Evergreen, Colorado, and the Park Central Hotel. Interviews of witnesses at the Washington Hilton Hotel and the George Washington University Hospital. Memos concerning President Ronald Reagan’s missing shirt and cufflinks. FBI laboratory latent fingerprints and handwriting examination reports. The purchase and possession of weapons by Hinckley.

John Warnock Hinckley Jr. was born on May 29, 1955. After dropping out of college in 1976, John Hinckley went to Los Angeles with the hopes of becoming a song writer. It is believed that while in Los Angeles, Hinckley saw the Martin Scorsese film “Taxi Driver”, staring Robert DeNiro as the main character Travis Bickle, at least 15 times. In the movie “Taxi Driver”, Travis Bickle becomes infatuated with Cybill Shepherd’s character Betsy. After being rejected by Betsy, Bickle unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate a Congressional candidate that Betsy works for. Bickle then moves his attention to a 12-year-old prostitute, Iris, played by Jodie Foster. Bickle decides to shoot Iris’s pimp. The blood bath that ensues leads to Bickle being deemed a hero by the media and Iris’ parents. Screenwriter Paul Schrader’s character, Travis Bickle, was partially based on the failed assassin Arthur Bremer, who attempted to assassinate Governor George Wallace during a presidential campaign stop.

Hinckley became fixated on Foster and began to build a gun collection. In 1980, after learning that Jodie Foster was enrolled at Yale University he traveled to the school. Hinckley left notes for Foster and contacted her twice by phone. After Foster rejected Hinckley, he began to stalk President Jimmy Carter during the 1980 presidential campaign. During a campaign stop in Nashville Tennessee, Hinckley was arrested for possessing a handgun at the Nashville Airport.

John Hinckley Jr. exited a bus in Washington, D.C. and checked into the Park Central Hotel on March 29, 1981. On March 30, 1981, President Ronald gave a luncheon speech to 3,500 AFL-CIO union delegates at a Washington, D.C. Hilton. Hinckley, standing among a crowd of onlookers outside the hotel, fired six shoots, exploding Devastator bullets, at President Reagan as he left the hotel surrounded by staff, Secret Service agents, and police officers. The gunfire hit President Reagan, police officer Tom Delahanty, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and Press Secretary James Brady. The bullet that struck President Reagan malfunctioned, failing to explode on contact.

In 1982, a jury found Hinckley not-guilty by reason of insanity. The verdict lead to Hinckley’s confinement at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC. The verdict also leads to many states changing their laws concerning criminal insanity defenses. In 1999, he was allowed to make supervised visits to his parents. In April of 2000, Hinckley won the right to have unsupervised furloughs. This right was revoked the following May after a book about Jodie Foster was found in his room at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. On December 17, 2003, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman granted Hinckley the right to unsupervised visits with his parents.
He was released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016