WILLIAMSBURG — Earlier this week, John Hinckley Jr. announced on his personal Twitter account that he was planning on performing in Williamsburg at the Williamsburg Regional Library (WRL), however, WRL quickly decided that it was in the best interest of the library to cancel the event.
“In keeping with library policies, on August 2, 2022, Williamsburg Regional Library accepted an application for rental of the Williamsburg Library Theatre from John Hinckley, a local resident, for a musical performance,” WRL said in an official statement. “Based on the tenor of the communications the library received, it became evident that this event would be disruptive to library operations. As of 5:30 p.m. on August 2, 2022, the event was canceled.”
Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981. The attempt wounded President Reagan, police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and severely injured Press Secretary James Brady.
In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent 35 years of his life at St. Elizabeths Hospital, a public psychiatric facility in Washington, D.C.
In 2016, a federal judge ruled that Hinckley was to be released from the psychiatric hospital to live full-time with his mother, Jo Ann Hinckley, in Williamsburg.
His mother passed away in July 2021. In September 2021, a federal judge approved Hinckley’s unconditional release beginning in June 2022.
Hinckley has been known to play the guitar as part of his music therapy, but it may come as a surprise that he has been preparing a musical act. His self-proclaimed “John Hinckley Redemption Tour” was announced on his Twitter account in April, with three venues slated to host performances. One in Chicago, one in Connecticut, and one in Brooklyn. However, those venues have since canceled his performances as well.
Hinckley created a Youtube account in 2020 where he can be seen strumming his guitar and covering songs, as well as performing original pieces.
He’s uploaded many of his original songs to the Youtube channel, including: “Can’t We Get Along,” “You and I Are Free,” and “We Will See This Through.”
Since its inception, the John Hinckley Youtube channel has recorded over 29,000 subscribers, and his videos tally a grand total of over 850 thousand views combined.
