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A Brooklyn music agency has announced it is canceling a scheduled performance by John Hinckley Jr., arguing that executing the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan was not worth the potential community risk posed by those offended by the event.
In a long post on social media, Market Hotel explained that they had scheduled the concert because they thought it would be an “interesting” and “memorable” show. The New York organization has made it clear that it does not agree with the idea that they should not be able to hold such an event, and made the decision after weighing the pros and cons.
“The host of provocative events is in itself valid and should be part of the reason for the existence of any place,” said a statement from the Market Hotel on Instagram, adding that Hinckley’s presentation “sends a message that there are problems with mental health and a criminal past can be restored and redeemed[.]”
Hinckley, 67, is a free man and was released on Wednesday, 41 years after he shot Reagan, then-White House spokesman James Brady, a secret service officer and police officer.
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Hinckley was inspired by Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” when he shot newly elected Reagan in an attempt to impress actress Jody Foster. He was acquitted of insanity but spent more than 30 years in a psychiatric hospital.
A judge gave Hinckley parole at his mother’s home in 2016, and those conditions were lifted this week.
Hoping for a musical career, Hinckley had booked a performance at the Market Hotel for July 8, which sold out.
“Many thanks to everyone who helped me get my unconditional release. What a strange journey that was. Now is the time for rock’n’roll, “wrote Hinckley, who sings and plays guitar, tweeting on June 1.
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Photo by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981 (Photo provided by the Bureau of Prisons / Getty Images) (Photo provided by the Bureau of Prisons / Getty Images)
Announcing the cancellation of the show on July 8, Hotel Market said they were reluctant to make the decision.
“There was a time when a place could host something like that, maybe a little offensive, and the reaction would be, ‘It’s just a man playing a show that hurts him – it’s a free country,'” they said. “We no longer live in this kind of free country, for better or for worse.
In a statement, the place said it had chosen to cancel, “after being presented and reflecting on some of the very real and deteriorating threats and hatred facing our vulnerable communities” and after seeing the nature of who this reservation is. antagonized, and by whom and what else these same people are upset. “
They insisted that the show itself would be harmless. “This is the sixth anniversary of an acoustic guitar,” they said. “Make no mistake: the cancellation of this concert will not deter future killers and will not have an effect on the mass shootings and will certainly not turn the horror of what Hinckley did 40 years ago.”
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Eventually, Market Hotel acknowledged that Hinckley’s performance was a “stunt reservation” based on Hinckley’s past violence, and given that they didn’t believe his music exceeded his reputation, it wasn’t worth it. we continue with the show in general.
“It is not worth betting on the safety of our vulnerable communities to give a person a microphone and a salary for their art, which they should not have won, who we do not care about on an artistic level and who upset people in dangerously radical, reactionary climates.” he added.
Stephen Soras and Andrea Vacchiano of Fox News contributed to this report.
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