John Hinckley Jr., the Man Who Shot Reagan at the WHCD Hotel, Weighs in on Latest Assassination Attempt — Says It Was ‘Spooky’ to Find Out It ‘Took Place at the Same Hotel as Mine Did’
April 27, 2026
John Hinckley Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton in 1981, has weighed in on Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which took place at the same hotel.
Speaking to TMZ, Hinckley said the recent shooting attempt was “spooky” because it occurred at the same venue where he carried out his 1981 attack.
Hinckley stated that the Washington Hilton “is not secure” and urged the hotel to stop hosting major high-profile events “because bad things keep happening there.”
TMZ reports:
Hinckley kicked off our convo by telling us he first learned about the WHCD shooting when a newsflash came up on his phone and he turned on the TV to watch some of the coverage. He said it was “spooky” to find out the WHCD shooting “took place at the same hotel as mine did.”
Hinckley is now calling on the hotel to stop holding events there “because bad things keep happening” and “it’s just not a secure place to hold big events.”
To illustrate his point, Hinckley described what happened back in ’81 when he showed up at the hotel to shoot Reagan. He said back then, the security was “lax” too … because he was able to sneak into a crowd of reporters waiting outside the hotel for Reagan to exit after delivering a speech. He said Secret Service agents never checked whether he was a reporter during their sweeps.
If they had, Hinckley said he would have bolted because he was not a journalist, had no press credentials and his devious plot would have likely been exposed. As a result, history might have turned out very differently.
Hinckley had carried out the 1981 shooting that wounded Reagan and three others in an attempt to impress actress Jodi Foster.
President Reagan was struck in the chest by a ricocheting bullet, while three others were wounded. The other victims included former White House Press Secretary James Brady, who suffered permanent brain damage and later died from complications in 2014; Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy; and D.C. Police Officer Thomas Delahanty.
Hinckley was tackled and arrested at the scene moments later.
In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was committed to a federal psychiatric facility, where he spent more than 34 years.
A federal judge granted him conditional release in 2016, allowing him to live with his mother in Virginia under strict conditions, including regular therapy, no contact with Foster, no firearms, and monitoring by mental health professionals.
Hinckley received full unconditional release in 2022, ending all court supervision after more than four decades. He is now trying to have a music career.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, multiple high-profile attendees at the dinner have publicly exposed what they described as shockingly relaxed security protocols.
Kari Lake posted that upon entering, no one visibly inspected her ticket or asked for photo identification.
In a post shortly after the shooting, Lake wrote:
I can’t believe how lax the security was at the White House correspondents dinner tonight. Upon entering nobody asked to visibly INSPECT my ticket nor asked for my photo identification. All one had to do was flash what appeared to be a ticket and they were fine with that.
When you consider you are entering a roomful of fake news media —90% of whom hate the President you would think they would have better security. This is what happened when what sounded like gunfire erupted.
On the way out, I called-out a bunch of the disgusting Media who have been pushing hatred toward President Trump for years. They are a big part of the discord in this country.
Other guests, including former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and conservative commentator Mads Campbell, reported minimal bag checks, no real screening at certain areas, and guests being rushed through entry points with little scrutiny.
Pai wrote, “As I walked into the ballroom with a friend this evening, I mentioned how surprised I was at the lax security. I was admitted to the hotel’s circular driveway by showing my WHCD ticket, came into the hotel, showed my ticket again to go down an escalator, did so yet again for a second escalator, and then walked through a bare-bones metal detector where devices, wallets, etc. were placed on a side table—and not scanned. Then straight into the ballroom. Didn’t seem optimal, to say the least.”
The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of California, was able to approach a Secret Service checkpoint armed with a pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic pistol, and multiple knives. He had booked a room at the Hilton in advance as a registered guest.
Secret Service agents engaged Allen, exchanging gunfire before tackling and arresting him. President Trump and other officials inside the ballroom were safely evacuated with no injuries reported among guests.
A Secret Service agent was shot, but saved by his bulletproof vest.
Allen is scheduled to be arraigned later today in DC.
The post John Hinckley Jr., the Man Who Shot Reagan at the WHCD Hotel, Weighs in on Latest Assassination Attempt — Says It Was ‘Spooky’ to Find Out It ‘Took Place at the Same Hotel as Mine Did’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Lieu must be held responsible for his lies leading to this assassination attempt. 
(@marcthiessen) 
