Reagan Assassination Attempt

The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan took place in March 30, 1981, 69 days after Ronald Reagan assumed the U.S. presidency.

While leaving a public commitment in the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr.

Reagan suffered a perforated lung, but a quick medical care allowed him to recover quickly despite his age at the time Reagan was 70. The attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan was portrayed in the movie “The Day Reagan Was Shot, ” 2001 production.

Reagan was the first president in service of the United States who was shot and survived an assassination attempt.

There was no formal invocation of presidential succession, although a controversial statement made ​​by the Secretary of State Alexander Haig said he was “in charge” scored a short period during which Vice President George H. W. Bush was physically absent, flying back to Washington, DC aboard Air Force Two after a speech in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hinckley, the gunman, was found innocent by reason of insanity and has remained confined in a psychiatric institution.

Motivation

The motivation behind Hinckley’s attack was an unhealthy obsession with actress Jodie Foster.

While living in Hollywood in the late 1970s, he saw the movie Taxi Driver at least fifteen times, it seems there was a strong identification with the main character, Travis Bickle (played by Robert De Niro).

The plot shows Bickle efforts to protect a 12 years old prostitute played by Foster, almost at the end of the film, Bickle tries to assassinate a U.S. Senator who is running for president.On June 21, 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The psychiatric reports submitted by the defense stated that Hinckley suffered from insanity, while the reports of the sniper prosecution declared legally sound. Following the advice of his lawyers, John Hinckley refused to speak in his own defense.

He was confined at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D. C., where she still maintained until today. After his trial, he wrote that the attack was “the best proof of love for all time” and showed no repentance.

The verdict of not guilty has resulted in widespread disappointment and, consequently, the U.S. Congress and a number of states rewrote laws watching the insanity defense.

Jodie Foster was pursued relentlessly by the media in early 1981 because she was the target of the obsession of Hinckley. She commented on Hinckley on three occasions: during a press conference a few days after the attack, in an article she wrote in 1982 and an interview with Charlie Rose for the program 60 Minutes, in fact, she ended several interviews after the subject was mentioned.