The Man Who Nearly Killed a President Now Croons on YouTube
On June 15, 2022, John Hinckley Jr. was fully released from court restrictions, and his YouTube subscribers totaled over 41,000 by March 2025. Picture this: the same hands that once held a .22 caliber revolver aimed at Ronald Reagan now strum a guitar for thousands of online fans. Since December 2020, Hinckley has posted videos of himself performing original songs with a guitar and covers of songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan, and the Elvis Presley song “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. It’s a transformation so bizarre that even Hollywood scriptwriters would’ve rejected it as too unbelievable. The man who terrorized a nation with six gunshots outside the Washington Hilton Hotel is now selling folk music on streaming platforms, and yes, people are actually buying it.
From Psychiatric Hospital to Record Label Owner
Hinckley announced in December 2021 that his album would be released in early 2022 on Emporia Records, a label he founded to “release the music of others, music that needs to be heard”. Hinckley recently started his own record label, called Emporia Records, and says he’s planning a 14-song album of his original music. Think about that for a moment—a man who spent over three decades in institutional psychiatric care is now running his own music business. John Hinckley Jr. moves from Spotify to physical media and has released his first album. It’s the ultimate American redemption story, except this one involves attempted presidential assassination and folk songs about overcoming hard times.
The “Redemption” Album That Actually Exists
Hinckley released his album called “Redemption” on July 12, 2023, on Asbestos Records, after Matt Flood contacted him through his Twitter page and talked him into doing an album when other record labels turned him down. The album has seven songs on side A and seven songs on side B, with blue and red vinyl choices. On Apple Music, you can find tracks like “I Sing My Songs,” “Love is Forever,” and “May Your Dreams Come True.” Here’s a guy who once made headlines for all the wrong reasons, and now he’s asking “How are sales?” like any other indie musician hustling to make it in the industry.
Concert Tours That Keep Getting Cancelled
John Hinckley Jr. has postponed a scheduled concert at Hotel Huxley in Naugatuck, with the original date being March 30—the 43rd anniversary of the shooting—and he announced the postponement on his social media pages. Hinckley has been writing songs and releasing recordings online, but his debut concert at the Market Hotel in New York City was canceled after the venue received a volley of violent threats. Hinckley was scheduled to perform at venues in Naugatuck CT, Chicago, Brooklyn NY and Hamden, CT, but had last minute cancellations mostly due to threats to the venues. It’s a cruel irony—the man who once used violence to get attention now has his peaceful pursuits disrupted by threats of violence from others.
The Music Store That Never Was
Would-be presidential assassin John W. Hinckley Jr. announced he would open a music store in eastern Virginia this month. “Grand opening is in a week or two!” he posted Monday on X about a business at 455 Merrimac trail, which is in York County, just outside the Williamsburg city limits. However, just days later, Hinckley told News4 that “The Music Store is not happening” due to “too much negative publicity!” Opening a record shop struck observers as a significant humbling, as Hinckley would not grow his infamy as a downmarket entrepreneur, the proprietor of a tiny retail store a couple miles from Colonial Williamsburg. Even his attempt at running a simple music shop became too controversial for comfort.
What His Songs Actually Sound Like
Hinckley’s music is described as conventional solo acoustic singer/songwriter material, with videos of him performing songs like “We Have Got That Chemistry” and “Hope for the Future” available online. “My songs are upbeat songs about overcoming hard times. A lot of songs are autobiographical about my life and how hard things have been for me,” Hinckley explained. Besides his original songs, Hinckley performs covers of songs by artists such as Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. Imagine sitting in a coffee shop, hearing gentle folk melodies about redemption and second chances, only to discover the performer once came within an inch of killing a U.S. President. Hinckley got interested in music when the Beatles came to America in 1964 at age eight, got a guitar at ten, and later caught on to Bob Dylan’s early folk and country rock.
The Cat Paintings Side Hustle
Following his release, Hinckley took up painting, using his pet cat as a reference, and as of May 2023, he had sold several pieces on eBay. Hinckley has a cat who is the frequent subject of his paintings, which can be purchased on his artist website or his eBay page. These days, one typically encounters Hinckley through his YouTube songs, his eBay store where he sells paintings of his cat, and his social media posts. It’s perhaps the most mundane detail in this entire surreal story—a former would-be assassin selling cat paintings on eBay like any other retiree looking to make extra income. He now shares his music on social media and sells his artwork of cats on eBay.
Legal Freedom After Four Decades
In September 2021, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that Hinckley was “mentally stable,” had complied with the terms of his conditional release, and should be granted unconditional release. The Department of Behavioral Health supported lifting the conditions of Hinckley’s release for years, telling the court he posed “low risk for future violence.” After a 30-plus-year, court-mandated psychiatric hospitalization, a federal judge declared Hinckley rehabilitated, and for a half-dozen years he lived under various legal restrictions, which were all unconditionally lifted in 2022, making him a totally free man for the first time in 41 years. In October 2020, a federal court ruled that Hinckley may showcase and market his artwork, writings, and music publicly under his own name.
The Streaming Numbers Don’t Lie
While specific sales figures for Hinckley’s music aren’t publicly available, his YouTube subscribers totaled over 41,000 by March 2025. You can listen to music by John Hinckley on Apple Music, with top songs including “I Sing My Songs,” “Love is Forever” and more. At least one of his shows in Brooklyn quickly sold out. His presence on major streaming platforms proves that people aren’t just gawking at a curiosity—they’re actually consuming his artistic output. John Hinckley Jr. tickets and tour information are available on Vivid Seats, which has full tour info for all announced shows. The fact that ticket companies are listing his potential concerts suggests there’s genuine commercial interest in his performances.
Public Reaction to His Musical Career
Hinckley has been sporadically in the news for his 2022 “Redemption Tour,” which was scrapped due to various issues, and he declared himself a “victim of cancel culture,” which made folks queasy because nobody would have cared about the YouTube croonings of a random 67-year-old in Virginia, but since he’d put a bullet in the lung of an American president, he could trade on his notoriety to sell out shows. The Market Hotel wrote in an Instagram post: “We do believe that ex-cons and people with mental illness can recover… but we are living in dangerous times,” adding “It is not worth a gamble on the safety of our vulnerable communities to give a guy a microphone and a paycheck from his art to a guy who hasn’t had to earn it.” The controversy surrounding his musical pursuits reveals America’s ongoing struggle with redemption, forgiveness, and the commodification of notoriety.
From Violence to “Give Peace a Chance”
On July 17, 2024, following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Hinckley tweeted, “Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance.” Time has moved on for Hinckley, and he wishes others would move along with it, saying he’s no longer the man he was when he shot President Reagan in 1981. Hinckley expressed: “Yes, I’m very sorry, I have tremendous remorse for what I did in 1981.” His message through music is clear: “That’s what I’m doing now with my music is trying to reach out to people in a positive way.” The man who once sought fame through destruction now hopes to find meaning through creation.
The Uncomfortable Questions His Success Raises
There was an eerie resonance with his crime, as Hinckley had no political goal when he shot Reagan—he simply wanted to be in the newspaper, to become equivalently famous to Jodie Foster, and in booking the Redemption Tour, Hinckley seemed to want people to look at him, to hear his music, to know his name. The continuity of impulse scared folks, because last time, it didn’t lead anywhere good. His musical career forces society to grapple with difficult questions: Can someone truly change? Should notoriety, even from heinous acts, be allowed to open doors? This version of Hinckley’s redemption seemed more plausible—his oddball passion project a modest gesture of hope, a stab at a third act from the kind of person who usually wouldn’t get a second. Yet the fact remains: you can literally buy music made by Ronald Reagan’s shooter on Apple Music today.
The most chilling part? “Yes, if I never do a gig ever,” Hinckley said, “I will still be writing my songs and putting them out there for people to hear.” Whether we’re comfortable with it or not, John Hinckley Jr. isn’t going anywhere. Did you expect that the man who tried to kill a president would end up as just another indie folk artist trying to make it on streaming platforms?
