John Hinckley Jr.’s March 30, 1981 letter to Jodie Foster, written hours before his attempted assassination of President Reagan [371X742].

John Hinckley Jr. was born on May 29, 1955, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, into a wealthy family. As a teen, he became increasingly withdrawn, though nothing about him stood out dramatically.

Around 1975–76, at age 20, he went to Hollywood hoping to become a songwriter. By September 1976, he returned home in a worsening mental state, and obsessed with the hit film Taxi Driver. Hinckley fixated on the film’s disturbed protagonist, Travis Bickle, and even more so on the young actress playing Iris, Jodie Foster.

He began collecting firearms, prompting his family to push him into psychiatric treatment.

Hinckley started sending Foster romantic and increasingly erratic letters. When she went to Yale in 1980, he followed, claiming he was taking a writing course. Instead, he stalked her, sending letters, poems, and making repeated calls.

Failing to win her attention, he fantasized about drastic acts: hijacking a plane like D. B. Cooper, or even killing himself. Eventually, he settled on shooting a political figure.

Hinckley briefly trailed President Jimmy Carter during the 1980 campaign, at one point getting within 20 feet of him at a rally in Dayton. On October 9, he followed Carter to Nashville and was arrested at the airport for carrying handcuffs and three unloaded guns. He was released the same day.

By early 1981, Hinckley turned his attention to newly inaugurated President Ronald Reagan. He arrived in Washington, D.C., on March 29 and learned from a newspaper that Reagan would be speaking at the Hilton Hotel. The next morning, he wrote Jodie Foster a letter hours before his attack:

“There is a definite possibility that I will be killed in my attempt to get Reagan. It is for this very reason that I am writing you this letter now…

Jodie, I would abandon this idea of getting Reagan in a second if I could only win your heart… I’m asking you to please look into your heart and at least give me the chance, with this historical deed, to gain your respect and love.

I love you forever,

John Hinckley”

Later that day, Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Reagan, firing six shots that wounded four men, including the president.

If you’re interested, I cover the full assassination attempt and its aftermath here: https://open.substack.com/pub/aid2000/p/hare-brained-history-vol-81-the-attempted?r=4mmzre&utm\_medium=ios