The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley Jr., was scheduled to perform original music at a New York City venue – until that venue canceled on the man who tried to kill the former president citing safety concerns.
The show was sold-out and was intended to kick off Hinckley’s self-dubbed “redemption tour,” The New York Times reported Wednesday. (RELATED: John Hinckley, The Man Who Tried To Kill Reagan, Granted Unconditional Release)
The John Hinckley Jr. concert in Brooklyn, an oddity that was scheduled to feature the music of a man best known for trying to kill a U.S. president, was canceled by the venue, citing fears of a backlash in a “dangerously radicalized, reactionary climate.” https://t.co/HZ5dkzYjdQ
— New York Times Music (@nytimesmusic) June 15, 2022
Hinkley shot Reagan in 1981 and was found not guilty after he pleaded insanity after shooting the President shortly after he was inaugurated, according to the Department of Justice.
The show would have taken place on July 8 at a NYC consort hall called “Market Hotel,” according to the Times. (RELATED: ‘Take Turns’: New York City Public Health Poster Says Doing Drugs Is Fine If Done Safely)
View this post on Instagram
I will be singing 17 songs at my show in Brooklyn, NY. on July 8. All originals. pic.twitter.com/9GRn2Cr3Tb
— John Hinckley (@JohnHinckley20) June 3, 2022
Even though the venue cancelled the show, the promoters defended the attempted assassin, saying “this guy performing harms no one in any practical way,” according to a statement posted on Instagram.
People who have been released from prison and who struggle with mental health should have a chance to “fully rejoin society,” the announcement added.