Two Secret Service agents testified that John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in 1981, was fixated on a shelf of books containing volumes on presidential assassins when he made an unscheduled visit to a bookstore,
The Washington Post reported. The 56-year-old Hinckley has been held in a psychiatric hospital since being found not guilty by reason of insanity for the shootings.
During hearings before a federal judge to decide whether Hinckley is to be granted more freedom from confinement, the agents testified that Hinckley made two visits to a Barnes & Noble bookstore near his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Va.
During a July visit, agent Anthony Bordeaux testified Hinckley appeared to examine a shelf in the American history stacks that included a book about the 1981 assassination attempt. Agent Jason Clickner watched Hinckley visit the store in October and said Hinckley was “momentarily fixated” on shelves containing a book about the assassination of President William McKinley, the Post reported.
“When I saw that, I had an involuntary response of goose bumps,” Clickner said according to the Post.
St. Elizabeths Hospital is seeking permission to allow Hinckley to live with his mother full time. He currently is allowed 10-day visits. Federal prosecutors oppose the move and maintain Hinckley is still a risk, the Post reported.
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