John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been granted freedom from court oversight, officially ending decades of supervision by legal and mental health professionals.
Shortly after 12 p.m, he tweeted: “After 41 years 2 months and 15 days, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!”
The lifting of every restriction had been expected since September. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said he would free Hinckley on June 15 if he remained mentally stable in the community in Virginia where he has been living since 2016.
Hinckley, who was acquitted on the grounds of insanity, spent the decades before that in a Washington mental hospital.
Freedom for Hinckley will include holding a concert (as he plays guitar and sings) in Brooklyn, New York, in July. He has already gained close to 30,000 followers on Twitter and YouTube in recent months as the judge relaxed Hinckley’s restrictions before fully lifting all restrictions.
However, the 67-year-old is very far from being the household name that he became after he shot and wounded the 40th U.S. president and many others outside a Washington hotel. Historians of today say Hinckley is at best a question on a quiz show and an individual that unintentionally helped build the Reagan legend and triggered a push for stricter gun control.
In an email to The Associated Press, H.W. Brands, a historian and Reagan biographer, wrote: “If Hinckley had succeeded in killing Reagan, then he would have been a pivotal historical figure. As it is, he is a misguided soul whom history has already forgotten.”
Friedman, the federal judge presiding over Hinckley’s case, disclosed on June 1 that Hinckley has exhibited no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s and has shown no violent behaviour or interest in weapons.
During the hearing that took place earlier this month, the Judge said: “I am confident that Mr Hinckley will do well in the years remaining to him.”
He remarked that lawyers for the government and Hinckley have struggled over the years over whether Hinckley should be given increased freedom.
He said: “It took us a long time to get here” and added that there is now unanimous agreement: “This is the time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will.”
