John Hinckley, who tried to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was fully released on Wednesday, six years after being released from a psychiatric hospital.
In early June, a Washington court ruled that after decades of treatment and psychiatric check-ups, Hinckley, now 67, he no longer represented a threat and that the conditions that were imposed on him after his release in 2016 would be lifted on June 15.
“After 41 years, two months and 15 days, I am free!!!” he tweeted on Wednesday.
Hinckley shot Reagan and three others outside a Washington hotel on March 30, 1981 with a revolver.. According to him, he wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he became obsessed after seeing her in the movie “Taxi Driver.” All four people he shot survived. Although Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady, was left partially paralyzed and forced to use a wheelchair.
At his trial in 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty due to insanity and admitted to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. a psychiatric institution in Washington, for 34 years.
He was released in September 2016, but he was forced to live with his mother in a gated community in Williamsburg, Virginiaunder a long list of restrictions that included restrictions on their movement and the monitoring of their electronic devices and online accounts. He was also prohibited from traveling to any area where a president or former president, vice president or member of Congress was present. Hinckley was also not allowed to speak to the media or post content online or in person without authorization.
A government report on his mental state filed in court on May 19 says his mental health had “remained stable” and his psychiatric illness had been in “full and sustained remission for decades.”