Why Jodie Foster Doesn't Have to Worry with Attempted Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. Now Free

I understand they were considering possible release a couple of times earlier, but they found out once or twice that you were corresponding with some serial killers, which didn't exactly help your chances, right? Who did you correspond with? That was in the 1980s when I still was going through my recovery. I had a correspondence briefly with Ted Bundy and some of Manson's followers were writing to me. I never communicated with Manson himself, but Squeaky From wrote to me several times. I distinctly received mail from Squeaky From, the Charles Manson follower now in prison for attempting to kill President Ford. I went to shake a hand and I looked down and there was a gun in a hand pointed directly at me. Yeah, my judgment was not good in the 1980s. Why were they communicating with you? Why was Ted Bundy writing you letters? Just because I was very well known back then. You know, I was in the news all the time and they wrote to me. In those instances, I wrote back. You write in the book in chapter 41, arriving at St. Elizabeth's, they admired me. I was famous, not loved, but certainly familiar. These people couldn't believe it was me. I would be waiting in line for something and suddenly everyone would move out of the way to let me go up front. People argued over who got to battle me in cards or at the ping pong table. When I started talking in group sessions, everybody shut up and listened fast. I got a private room right next to the main offices. Did you feel like a celebrity? Was that important to you? I did. I mean, I did because when I first went to St. Elizabeth's, I was on TV almost every day. Opening arguments were heard and the first witnesses called. And the other patients would see me on TV and they couldn't believe I was standing there right there in front of them. They were just kind of in awe of me. And yeah, I was treated very much like a celebrity by the patients. There's a debate going on right now in society that I've taken a firm stand on and it revolves around whether we should as news media say the name of mass shooters or even potentially assassins, attempted assassins, because it can be dangerous to give them the infamy they seek. What do you think? Well, it's hard not to say their name on the news because you're reporting the story and I think the public wants to know the shooter's name. I mean, for instance, after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, you immediately knew that assassin's name. They weren't trying to hide it or anything. So I think it'd be very difficult to just not say the shooter's name. And what about the widespread use of it and repeating it over and over? What do you think that does? I don't think you need to do that, but I'm just saying in a news story, if you're going to report the news accurately, it's kind of hard not to say the name. How do you think it would have affected you, John? Do you have any way of speculating? If you had known that if you did this dastardly deed, no one would say your name. Jodie Foster would not know it was you. Your name wouldn't be well known. You wouldn't be famous. And then when you got to St. Elizabeth's, you would not get any sort of star treatment. I don't think I would have done it. I mean, the whole point of it was to get Jodie's attention so she would know who I am. So yeah, I mean, if my name was going to be kept out of everything, I don't think I would have done it. What did you learn about Ted Bundy in your correspondence? Well, it was brief. They were mundane letters. We just talked about what we did during the day, and it's hard to believe that I'm listening to, reading about what Ted Bundy does during his day in his cell. But that's, I mean, the letters were just very mundane letters. I kind of feel like St. Elizabeth's kind of dropped the ball there. Like, how are they allowing this kind of influence on you while you're in their care? Oh, I don't know. I was getting so much mail back then, I think they kind of lost track of everything. Did you have any of the ladies who write you letters saying, I want to be your girlfriend or I want to get married? Oh yeah, lots, yes. You did? Yes. Did you get married or see any of them? I didn't get married, but I had a whole lot of young ladies writing to me and wanting to meet me and giving me their phone number and address and measurements and everything else. Oh wow. And did that just peter off over the course of the three decades or what? Yeah, it just kind of dwindled out over time. Yeah. In your book, you talk about the Charlie Manson correspondent saying, you did get one from Charlie himself. Yes, you're right, he knew of me. Apparently, he even liked me, saw me as something of a kindred spirit. His letter of salutation was John Boy with a nice little swastika right in the middle of it. Do you still have these? Oh no, no. The government has those letters. I don't have the letters. I mean, it's pretty crazy, the life that you've gone through. I can't even imagine. So what was it, John? Was it medication that helped finally you break free from this mental illness that got you to the point where this psychosis was no longer debilitating? I think the main thing was my long 22-year relationship with Leslie DeVoe that brought me out of my depression and psychosis. And yes, the medication helped and the therapies helped and some of the staff at St. Elizabeth's helped. As I got older, I just got away from a lot of thinking, bad thoughts that I had early on in my life. What happened to Leslie? After 22 years, she just got tired. The government started focusing on her and going through her bank records and her trash, and she just said, I can't deal with this. So we ended the relationship. She's no longer alive. She died a few years ago, but she just couldn't deal with the government surveillance. Of course, we're speaking to John Hinckley Jr., and some of these memories are documented in his memoir, which is called Who I Really Am. It came out last December, Who I Really Am. So then, eventually in 2022, you were released entirely, no conditions, but you're on your own. And you've been living that way now for some four years. How do you spend your days? What's your life like now? I do what everybody else does. I go grocery shopping and do my laundry. I have two cats that I take care of. I write my songs. I do cat paintings. I sell my little cat paintings to pay my bills and pay my rent. I have a quiet life here in Williamsburg. Do you ever get recognized? Occasionally when I'm in the stores. How does that go? People will come up to me and want to take a picture with me or shake my hand. Oh, really? The main thing that they say is, I love your music. Hello, everybody. This is another one of my original songs. I do have a lot of my songs on Spotify and the other streaming sites, if anybody wants to hear my music. Well, what do you like to sing about? Getting over hard times is the main theme. I have a YouTube channel where I sing my songs, and I have all my songs on, as I said, on the streaming sites, if anybody wants to hear them. What's your YouTube channel, in case they do? It's just John Hinckley. Okay. Are any of your family still alive? My brother and sister are. My parents are deceased, but my brother and sister are still alive. Are you in their lives at all? Oh, yeah. I just talked to my sister yesterday on the phone. Okay, so they're supportive. How do you pay your bills? How do you make money? Selling my little cat paintings. I don't make very much money. I barely get by paying bills and paying rent and paying for gas and all this stuff. And how old are you now? I just turned 71. We may not always agree, but we are always going to talk about it and respect. No BS, no agenda, no fear. For the first time since World War II, our national debt has exceeded the gross domestic product. America's reckless government spending keeps catching up with us. Higher inflation, higher prices, higher cost of living expenses, and higher interest payments on the national debt. Every dollar Washington spends on interest is a dollar it has to tax, borrow, or print. Smart retirement planners prepare for potential setbacks, and they can do that by diversifying with a time-tested asset known for weathering the storm. Consider Physical Gold from Birch Gold Group. Text MK to the number 989898 and Birch Gold will send you a free info kit on converting an existing IRA or 401k into a tax-sheltered IRA in Physical Gold. You don't pull the ripcord on your parachute once you've already hit the ground. Don't wait for economic turbulence to diversify. Text MK to the number 989898 and consider owning some gold from Birch Gold.