John Hinckley Jr. concerts in Chicago and Connecticut canceled; Promoter seeks new location in Brooklyn – Update

John Hinckley Jr.’s scheduled concert in Brooklyn was the third stop on his so-called Redemption Tour, which was canceled, says the songwriter who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

“I’ve had 3 canceled concerts: Chicago, Connecticut and now Brooklyn,” Hinckley tweeted this afternoon. “The developer is looking for another place.”

Concerts at Chicago’s Logan Square Auditorium, scheduled for July 23, and New Year’s Eve concerts at the Space Ballroom in Hamden, Connecticut, appear to have been canceled prior to the announcement of the Brooklyn Place Market Hotel.

In an email sent by the Market Hotel to ticket holders yesterday, the venue said Scenic Events NYC, a Hinckley promoter, was looking for a replacement venue for the concert. “If the new position is booked, you will be contacted at this email address for the date with information about the new position,” the statement said. “If the organizers are unable to provide a new concert venue, the purchase price of the tickets will be refunded within 3 days of the scheduled event date.”

On its Twitter page, Scenic Presents describes itself as “an obscure Brooklyn-based organization fighting the boring and bogus indie corporate rock shows of the new millennium.”

I canceled 3 shows: in Chicago, Connecticut and now Brooklyn. The promoter looks for another place.

– John Hinckley (@ JohnHinckley20) June 16, 2022

Hinckley was released from court custody on Wednesday, 41 years after attempting to assassinate Reagan in 1981. The long-planned concert was canceled due to security concerns in a hip venue in Brooklyn’s Bushwick borough, they said yesterday. local operators.

Hinckley, a songwriter who has posted his music on streaming sites and a YouTube channel, was scheduled to play his first post-concert concert at the Market Hotel on July 8. The show, which quickly sold out in recent weeks, was canceled today due to what the owners said was in part a concern for the “safety of our vulnerable communities.”

While local operators defended the initial decision to open the club for Hinckley, they noted that the 67-year-old singer-songwriter’s planned concert tour “sends a message that mental health problems and a criminal past can be solved and redeemed later.” “. Serve your debt to the public and treat it realistically ”- in the end, the security risks weren’t worth it.

“If we were to stage the event on principle and potentially put others at risk by doing so, it shouldn’t be a booking gimmick, it wouldn’t be an insult to the artist,” the site said in a statement. instagram page. “We might feel differently if we believed that music matters and overcomes disgust, but that’s not the case here.”

All restrictions on Hinckley’s release were lifted today, as scheduled since last fall, when United States District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said he would release Hinckley if he remained mentally stable and lived in the Virginia community where. lived. Supervision since 2016.

“After 2 months and 15 days at 41, finally freedom !!!”, wrote Hinckley on Twitter after midnight today.

After 2 months and 15 days of 41 years, finally freedom !!!

– John Hinckley (@ JohnHinckley20) June 15, 2022

Hinckley pleaded not guilty to insanity after Reagan shot him on March 30, 1981, wounding the president, police officer Thomas Delahant and intelligence agent Tim McCarthy. Reagan’s spokesman James Brady, who was permanently disabled and died 33 years later from his injuries, was more seriously injured. Hinckley later claimed to have attempted a murder to attract the attention of actress Jodie Foster.

In a statement from Hotel Market yesterday, local operators said the event at the hotel took place “through a third party promoter and we approved it because it seemed like an interesting meeting and a memorable evening. Organizing provocative events works for your good and should be the reason for the existence of any place.

“There was a time when a place could have hosted something like this, maybe a little offensive, and the reaction would have been, ‘Just a kid playing a show, that’s suffering, this is a free country.’ We no longer live in such a free country, for better or for worse ”.

Here is the full position statement:

After a very serious discussion, we canceled a scheduled event at the Market Hotel with John Hinckley.

This hotel even came on the market via an outside promoter and we approved of it because it felt like an exciting meeting and memorable night. Organizing provocative events works for your good and should be the reason for the existence of any place. The tour also sends the message that mental health problems and a criminal past can be healed and redeemed after paying the public debt and receiving royal treatment.

There was a time when a place could have hosted something like this, maybe a little offensive, and the reaction would have been, “He’s just a guy who puts on a show for those who suffer, this is a free country. “. We no longer live in such a free country, for better or for worse.

Again, this guy isn’t hurting anyone in practical terms. This is a sexigener with an acoustic guitar. All the indignation and concern are entirely due to the quote message you send in quotes. Make no mistake: Canceling this concert won’t discourage future killers and won’t impact mass shootings and certainly won’t change the horror Hinckley did 40 years ago. It’s also ridiculous to argue that the show could inspire a future killer: “I want to be like Hinckley, he has to play Market Hotel.” We are a small venue and this is just a concert. It doesn’t “matter” – regardless of the strong emotions used.

We believe that former people and mental illnesses can be cured and we want to keep them in the hope of healing and having the opportunity to fully return to society … but we live in dangerous times and according to what we stand for. Seeing the real and deteriorating threat and hatred we face in our vulnerable communities, and after seeing who faced this reproach, and who and what offended these same people, we see no need to lose someone who did something. horrible. the stage of our independent median community – and thus raise our vulnerable communities (without their consent) – especially if this artist hadn’t sold tickets without knowing who they are and what violent acts they committed.

If we were to stage an event on one principle and potentially put others at risk, it shouldn’t be a booking trick, not an insult to the artist. We might feel differently if we believed music mattered and got over shame, but that’s not the case here (although any artist can get there, even those who have committed horrific crimes and suffered from mental illness).

It’s not worth betting on the safety of our vulnerable communities to give a microphone and artistic compensation to a guy who didn’t have enough to earn it, who doesn’t care artistically, and who irritates people. In a reactionary, dangerously radicalized climate.
– LOVE, HOTEL MARKET