Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at the White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday after a gunman stormed the security perimeter and exchanged fire with Secret Service agents, forcing the evacuation of the president and several cabinet members.
The suspected perpetrator, identified by law enforcement officials as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was taken into custody after the shooting. Allen is a self-employed video game designer and part-time teacher who was named 'Teacher of the Month' in 2024, according to social media profiles. He earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Caltech in 2017 and a master's in computer science from California State University last year, social media profiles and law enforcement officials said.
I wasn't worried.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen booked a hotel room at the Washington Hilton weeks in advance and traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago to D.C. He arrived in the capital and checked into the Hilton on Friday with two firearms and a knife purchased years before, Blanche added. The gunman acted alone, according to Blanche.
Allen identified himself in a missive as a 'friendly federal assassin' and railed against Trump administration policies, law enforcement officials said. The attack was politically motivated, targeting folks in the administration, likely including the president, Blanche stated. US media report a history of anti-Trump social media posts from Allen, citing law enforcement sources.
He had a lot of hatred in his heart for a while.
The suspect refused to cooperate with investigators, Blanche said. He is due to appear in court on Monday, according to multiple reports. The FBI's criminal investigation and terrorism task-force are investigating, three sources confirmed.
This is the third time Trump has been very close to an assassination attempt, major media reports indicate. At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024, Trump was hit in the ear but survived, according to major media.
He was strongly anti-Christian.
In an unrelated development, President Donald Trump endorsed Steve Hilton in the California gubernatorial race, according to three sources.
Separately, Jan Hallenberg is an associate senior researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, major media reported. According to Aftonbladet, Hallenberg described Trump as one of the most threatened politicians in the world, noting that all American politicians at that level face a significant threat, but Trump is the most controversial president since possibly Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hallenberg added that some people write hateful posts because they hate Trump so much and want revenge, and that Trump's vocabulary contributes to worsening the mood in the US. He said Trump has expressed hatred towards his enemies and the media, and the violence mentality among Americans has increased, deepening the division in the country. Hallenberg noted it is extremely common for people to say things like 'my Republican daughter cannot marry a Democrat' and expressed fear that this could happen again. He said it is not about groups; previous cases have often involved people with mental health issues who have guns, and he does not believe there is a conspiracy to kill the president. After the Butler incident, there was a call for joint action, and Trump was soft for the first week but then returned to his usual rhetoric, Hallenberg said. After the weekend event, Trump gave an unusually subdued speech, saying that this type of problem must bring us together, but criticism will soon come from all sides. On Sunday there were statements that the suspected shooter hates Christians, which suits Trump's voter base well, Hallenberg added. He said there is a strong current within the Republicans that white Christians are the most persecuted people in the world, and those who are anti-Christian are the Democrats.
In a press conference, Trump said of the suspect: 'He had a lot of hatred in his heart for a while' and 'He was strongly anti-Christian.' Trump also said, 'I wasn't worried.'
The exact event name differs between reports—some call it a journalist dinner, others the White House Correspondents' Dinner—but both refer to the same dinner at the Washington Hilton, a minor discrepancy in naming.
Several unknowns remain: the exact motive of the suspect, how he obtained the firearms and knife, what specific security measures were in place at the event, the current condition of any injured individuals, and whether the suspect will face federal charges and the legal process moving forward.