The man who wounded US President Ronald Reagan and three other people in a 1981 assassination attempt should be freed after 35 years and released to live with his mother, a federal judge ruled today.

US District Judge Paul Friedman said John Hinckley Jr. no longer posed a danger to himself or others and could be released from a government psychiatric hospital in Washington.

Hinckley, 61, "is permitted to reside full-time in Williamsburg, Virginia, on convalescent leave, which shall begin no sooner than Aug. 5, 2016," Friedman said in a 14-page order. His mother lives in Williamsburg, about 130 miles (210 km) south of Washington.

The order includes a requirement that Hinckley meet with his psychiatrist in Washington at least once a month and notify the Secret Service when he travels for the appointment.

A jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity for the attack on Reagan, which also badly wounded presidential press secretary James Brady. Hinckley carried out the attack in a bid to impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he was obsessed.