Who Is John Hinckley? Gunman Who Tried To Assassinate Ronald Reagan To Be Released In Virginia

The man who tried to kill former President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s will soon be released from a Washington, D.C., mental hospital to live full-time with his mom.

John Hinckley, Jr., now 61, could be freed as early as Aug. 5 and is expected to comply with a variety of restrictions, including one that he not talk to the news, the president, the Reagan family or actress Jodie Foster, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

“After thirty-four years as an inpatient at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, and in view of the foregoing findings, and the successful completion of over 80 ... visits to Williamsburg over the last 10 years, the Court finds that Mr. Hinckley has received the maximum benefits possible in the in-patient setting,” U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman wrote in a document about his decision. “On the ultimate mixed question of law and fact, dangerousness, the Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Hinckley will not be a danger to himself or to others if released on full-time convalescent leave."

Hinckley was found not guilty due to insanity in 1982 after he fired six shots at Reagan as the president was leaving a hotel on March 30, 1981. One bullet punctured Reagan's lung; one hit press secretary James Brady, paralyzing him, according to CBS. Hinckley had been trying to catch the attention of Hollywood star Foster.

Once released, Hinckley will live with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he's spent two-week stretches of time when not in the hospital. He's on medication, and though tailed by the Secret Service, he's been recovering for years.

"I have these other aspects of my life that no one knows about," the Washingtonian reported he told a doctor in 2011. "I'm an artist. I'm a musician. Nobody knows that. They just see me as the guy who tried to kill Reagan."