The shooting incident during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday at the Washington Hilton was the second time that a president’s life was put in danger at the venue, located in the nation’s capital. The man who was responsible for the first incident 45 years ago weighed in on Sunday.
John Hinckley Jr. opened fire outside the hotel on March 30, 1981, targeting then-President Ronald Reagan. The president was wounded, along with U.S. Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty and White House press secretary James Brady, CBS News reported.
On Saturday, the correspondents’ dinner was disrupted when a man armed with knives, a shotgun and a handgun sprinted past security at the hotel, heading for the ballroom where President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of the cabinet were attending the event.
The suspect, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was quickly taken into custody.
😳 Exclusive: John Hinckley -- the man who shot then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981 -- says the Washington Hilton Hotel should stop holding big events because it's not secure.
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 27, 2026
Read more: https://t.co/98SdE9QQoX pic.twitter.com/uDjLyZ5mCw
Hinckley, 70, told TMZ in a brief interview that he learned about the attempted attack when he received a newsflash on his cellphone. Then, he watched coverage on television as reporters attempted to piece together what had happened.
He said that the incident was “spooky” when he learned that the incident “took place at the same hotel as mine did.”
Hinckley, who said at the time that he targeted the president in order to impress actress Jodie Foster, has called on the Hilton to stop hosting major events “because bad things keep happening” and “it’s just not a secure place,” TMZ reported.
Because of Hinckley’s actions in 1981, the Washington Hilton has a new name among Secret Service agents.
“Within the agency,” former Secret Service agent Timothy Reboulet told CBS News, “we refer to it as the ‘Hinckley’ Hilton.”
Hinckley was found not guilty of the shooting by reason of insanity in 1982 and was ordered to live at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Washington, D.C, The Guardian reported.
He was released in September 2016 and was freed from all court restrictions, including mental health, in June 2022, according to People.
According to The Associated Press, the Hilton built a bunker-like garage after the attempt on Reagan’s life. The Secret Service and local police assigned more agents and officers to guard presidential events at the Hilton.
A statement from a spokesperson for the hotel said the facility was operating under security protocols from the Secret Service.
After an assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the 2024 presidential campaign, Hinckley posted on social media that “violence is not the way to go.”
In December, Hinckley published a memoir, “John Hinckley Jr: Who I Really Am.”
The annual dinner is hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association, The New York Times reported. It has been held at the Hilton for more than five decades, according to the newspaper.
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