Shivangi Sinha
John Hinckley Jr. became obsessed with actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in the film ‘Taxi Driver,’ and began stalking her while she was attending Yale University. His fixation grew increasingly dangerous, leading him to plot a dramatic act he believed would capture her attention. On March 30, 1981, he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, DC hotel and ended up wounding the then-president and three others. He later stated that the attack was meant to impress Foster. Hinckley’s crimes are among the high-profile cases featured in Discovery+’s ‘Hollywood Demons: Stalking the Stars.’
John Hinckley Jr. Became Obsessed with Jodie Foster’s Character in Taxi Driver
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. was born on May 29, 1955, to Jo Ann and John Warnock Hinckley Sr. His father was the founder and president of the Vanderbilt Energy Corporation, and the family was financially well-off. When John was four years old, the family moved from Ardmore, Oklahoma, to Dallas, Texas, where he spent his formative years. He attended Highland Park High School and graduated in 1973. Reports suggest that between 1974 and 1980, Hinckley was intermittently enrolled at Texas Tech University but ultimately dropped out. By that time, his family had relocated to Evergreen, Colorado.
During his college years, Hinckley attempted to pursue a career as a songwriter, but his efforts were unsuccessful. He spent some time living with his parents in Colorado, during which he was allegedly taking medication for mental health issues. In 1976, when the acclaimed film ‘Taxi Driver’ was released, something about the movie deeply resonated with him—specifically, Jodie Foster’s portrayal of Iris, a 12-year-old girl who was sexually trafficked. Hinckley became obsessed with Foster and began to follow her closely. In 1980, when Foster enrolled at Yale University, he moved to New Haven, Connecticut, and told his parents he was signing up for a writing course, though he never actually enrolled.
Hinckley lived alone at the time and sent numerous letters, poems, and confessions to Foster, but she paid little attention to them. He reportedly hand-delivered many of these messages and left several voicemails for the actress. Eventually, much like the plot of the film that had first captivated him, he decided that winning the actor’s love would require an attempted assassination of a US president. According to reports, he trailed President Jimmy Carter across several states during Carter’s 1980 re-election campaign. However, on October 9, 1980, Hinckley was arrested at Nashville International Airport while trying to board a flight to New York. He was carrying handcuffs and three unloaded guns in his luggage. He was fined a minimal amount of $50 and was released the same day.
John Hinckley Jr. Claimed that He Attempted to Kill Ronald Reagan to Win Over Jodie Foster
After his airport arrest, John Hinckley briefly returned to his parent’s home and spent four months undergoing mental health treatment. By then, Ronald Reagan had been elected as the 40th President of the United States in November 1980. On March 29, 1981, he traveled to Washington, DC, where he stayed at a hotel and began tracking the president’s public schedule. On March 30, he wrote a letter to Jodie Foster in which he declared his plan to assassinate Reagan in an attempt to “impress” her. Later that day, he took a taxi to the Hilton Hotel and was carrying his Röhm revolver. As the then-president exited the building, Hinckley fired six shots. Press Secretary James Brady was critically wounded and left permanently paralyzed, police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were also injured, and the final bullet ricocheted off Reagan’s limousine and struck the president in the chest.
Hinckley was initially held at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, where he remained incarcerated for four months. Reports indicate that he attempted to kill himself twice, once in May and again in November of 1981. His trial began in May 1982, during which he faced 13 charges, including the attempted assassination of the President. His defense team argued that he suffered from severe mental health issues, and ultimately, the jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. Instead of prison, Hinckley was ordered to be institutionalized at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC. Starting in 1986, he began petitioning for more lenient conditions, and by 2003, he received judicial approval for a release plan that allowed him to make six supervised local day visits under his parents’ care.
In June 2009, Hinckley was granted permission to visit his mother for a dozen 10-day visits, and during this time, he also obtained a driver’s license. He was officially released from institutional psychiatric care on September 10, 2016. As part of the conditions of his release, he was required to live in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his mother and maintain employment for at least three days a week. He also had to allow monitoring of his internet browser history. He was strictly prohibited from contacting members of the Reagan family, Jodie Foster, and adhering to several other restrictions. In November 2018, a judge ruled that Hinckley could move out of his mother’s house and live independently. On June 15, 2022, he was fully released from all court-imposed restrictions. In interviews given around that time, he expressed remorse for his actions and apologized to his victims and to Foster.
John Hinckley Jr. is Pursuing His Passion as a Musician Today
John Hinckley appears to have made significant changes in the decades since he first made national headlines. In October 2020, a judge ruled that he could create and release work under his own name. Following the federal court order, he launched a YouTube channel where he has shared numerous videos of himself performing covers and classic hits. As of now, he has around 41,900 subscribers. On October 7, 2021, he self-released his first single, “We Have Got That Chemistry,” followed by another single, “You Let Whiskey Do Your Talking,” in November 2021. After all judicial restrictions were lifted, he attempted to organize live performances, but those plans fell through due to security concerns.
Nonetheless, he has continued to release music digitally and seems satisfied with his creative outlet for the time being. In 2024, Hinckley announced plans to open a music shop in Williamsburg, Virginia, but progress on this project appears to have stalled due to security concerns. In a recent video, he emphasized his commitment to peace and harmony and stated in November 2024 that he is “a man of peace now” in response to calls urging him to harm President-elect Donald Trump. He has also created the John Hinckley Community, which he describes as a refuge from the negativity of the world as he uses his music to bring calm and support to others.
Additionally, he has taken up painting and listed several cat paintings for sale on eBay. He has expressed a desire to find a physical space where members of his community could gather or even live together. In 2024, the Neil McGregor-directed documentary ‘Hinckley’ was released, and he offered his perspective on the incident that defined his life. John Hinckley Jr. remains embroiled in a complex and controversial journey of infamy, attempted redemption, and the ongoing search for peace and purpose beyond a past that the world has not forgotten.
Read More: Eric Swarbrick: Where is Taylor Swift’s Stalker Now?
