Ronald Reagan’s Shooter Responds To ‘One Last Job’ After Donald Trump’s Win: “I Am a Man of…”

John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, found himself in a very bizarre situation just last week. Hinckley began receiving strange remarks on his social media accounts following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The situation deteriorated to the point where he had to publicly declare his opposition to violence and make it apparent that such thoughts were unacceptable.

“I’m a man of peace now! Please stop with all the negative comments!” Hinckley wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, in response to a barrage of messages that had overwhelmed his feed. The 69-year-old posted it just two days after Trump won his second term in the White House. For context, some users made dark suggestions, with one commenting , “*takes drag of cigarette* You gotta come out of retirement for one last job , John.” Another added , “Bro, please, just one more mission, third time’s the charm.”

Others attempted to manipulate him by referencing his past, writing, “John, we’re all very big fans of your early work . You should definitely go back to that now more than ever.” Perhaps most disturbingly, some tried to trigger his historical obsessions, urging him to ‘do it for Jodie Foster’–a reference to his motivation for shooting Reagan in 1981.

Trump’s road to victory in 2024 was rife with violence, which makes the timing of these comments even more poignant. When a bullet brushed past Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, back in June, it struck Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old supporter who tragically did not survive. Two months later, Ryan Routh was apprehended at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while armed and lying in wait, as per Mediaite .

Hinckley’s commitment to peace isn’t new. He immediately took to social media following the July shooting in Pennsylvania to convey his argument, “Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance.” It has been an incredible journey for him to go from being a troubled young man who spent years in a mental health facility to being a peace advocate. Hinckley has been discreetly working on his music and artwork since he left treatment in 2016, concentrating only on producing and keeping everything under covers.

The Secret Service has acknowledged awareness of the social media posts directed at Hinckley but maintains its policy of not commenting on ‘matters of protective intelligence,’ as per TMZ . Moreover, 51-year-old Farhad Shakeri is still wanted by authorities in connection with what they say is an Iranian-backed conspiracy to assassinate Trump. As such, the situation highlights the growing concerns about political violence in America. President Joe Biden also addressed this division in his Thursday speech, saying, “You can’t only love your country when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”