John Hinckley Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan in 1981, took to social media on Thursday to plead for an end to comments urging him to take violent action against Donald Trump.
I'm a man of peace now! Please stop with all the negative comments!
— John Hinckley (@JohnHinckley20) November 8, 2024
Since Trump's recent election victory, some users have flooded Hinckley's posts on X (formerly Twitter) with comments like "We need you," and "Come out of retirement," referring to his past attempt on Reagan's life.
"I'm a man of peace now! Please stop with all the negative comments!" Hinckley, now 69, responded emphatically. He has been vocal about his desire to live a peaceful life, focusing on his art and music.
Hinckley shot Reagan, along with the then-press secretary, a Secret Service agent, and a police officer, outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981, in a bid to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he was obsessed. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent decades in a psychiatric facility before his release under certain restrictions in 2016. By 2022, these restrictions were fully lifted, allowing him a new level of freedom.
Hinckley, now dedicated to nonviolence, previously condemned violence in politics, including an attempted attack on Trump in Pennsylvania earlier this year, stating that such actions "are not the way to go."
The Secret Service acknowledged to TMZ that they are "aware of the social media posts" regarding Hinckley, but offered no further comment on matters of protective intelligence.
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