Attempted Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. Condemns Violence After Trump Shooting

John Hinckley Jr. is speaking on the Donald Trump shooting -- and his position might take some people by surprise ... 'cause he's condemning the attempted assassination.

The ex-con -- who shot Ronald Reagan in the '80s -- took to social media Wednesday to address the fact Thomas Matthew Crooks tried putting a bullet in Trump's head ... the first attempted assassination on a current/former Prez since Hinckley did what he did.

He writes, "Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance."

JHJ's peace plea didn’t land too well with some online -- many commenters saying they weren’t buying it ... insisting he’s probably not the go-to guy for advice on restoring political order after Trump was shot at. Still ... he said what he said, and it's commendable.

As we know ... John was found not guilty by reason of insanity after trying to impress Jodie Foster by opening fire on Reagan in 1981. Sadly, RR's press secretary, James Brady, was paralyzed from the attack and later died from his injuries in 2014.

John spent nearly 30 years in a mental health hospital before being released in 2016. Since then, he’s picked up the guitar and gone the music route ... even dropping some songs on his YouTube channel.

However, earlier this year, he moaned that cancel culture was killing his career ... and he hasn't been very active on social media since then. However, he's chirping up on this issue.