Cole Tomas Allen Charged With Attempting To Assassinate President Donald Trump At Washington Hilton

A gunman identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was charged in Washington, D.C., with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump after he tried to breach security at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton.

“Less than 48 hours after President Donald Trump praised the “unified” reaction of journalists who’d been present when a gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed top Democrats and the American press for the attempted assassination”

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NBC News reported that Allen was charged in his first court appearance and that he was “charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump,” while BBC said the suspect was also charged with two firearms offences and faced life in prison if found guilty.

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NPR described the federal prosecutors’ action as formal charges filed on Monday “with three counts,” including attempting to assassinate the president, and said Allen “did not enter a plea at Monday’s hearing.”

The BBC said Allen carried “a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun and three knives” as he charged past a security checkpoint at the dinner on Saturday.

NBC News reported that the suspect “exchanged gunfire with law enforcement in the Washington hotel’s lobby and was tackled,” and CNN said the suspect made his first court appearance and was charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

In the immediate aftermath, NPR quoted Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defending the Secret Service, saying, “Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they were trained to do.”

NBC News also said Trump was evacuated from the packed ballroom after “a person charged at a Secret Service checkpoint,” and the BBC reported that “Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members and other White House officials were rushed” from the Washington Hilton ballroom after gunfire rang out.

Federal court filings and reporting tied Allen’s alleged intent to a manifesto he sent to family and friends before the attack, with multiple outlets quoting the same language about a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor.”

The Guardian said an FBI affidavit quoted from a manifesto Allen sent to family and friends by email shortly before he tried to charge into the event, and it reproduced the line: “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

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In the Guardian’s account of Trump’s reaction during a 60 Minutes interview, Trump responded to Norah O’Donnell’s question by saying, “I’m not a pedophile. Excuse me. Excuse me. I’m not a pedophile,” and later told O’Donnell, “You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things.”

CNN similarly described the suspect’s first court appearance and said a review of his social media showed a shift “from video games to political rage,” while NBC News said Allen was a “California teacher and engineer” who believed it was his duty to target Trump administration officials.

BBC reported that prosecutors said Allen intended to bring down as many high-ranking cabinet members as he could, and it quoted the affidavit’s line: “Administration officials... are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.”

BBC also said the suspect “studied at the prestigious California Institute of Technology” and “worshipped at the Pasadena United Reformed Church in the Los Angeles area,” and it added that federal campaign finance records showed he donated “$25” to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024.

NPR said Allen’s manifesto was described by a White House official as a “manifesto” sent to his family members, and it quoted U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro saying, “And that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.”

The shooting and the subsequent charges triggered a White House security review and a debate over whether the event’s perimeter was strong enough, with multiple officials describing what they saw and what they were still checking.

BBC reported that “Many have questioned whether the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton was strong enough, why attendees were never asked to show ID at the event, and why the president, vice-president and others in the line of succession were all gathered in one place,” while Blanche told a news conference that “law enforcement did not fail” and that the gunman was “one floor away, ‘with hundreds of federal agents between him and the President of the United States.’”

CNN said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin told reporters he “saw no indication” of a security lapse after he and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley were briefed by Secret Service Director Sean Curran.

NPR described the Secret Service Director Sean Curran saying Saturday evening that “Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees,” and it added that “And that individual, when he charged a checkpoint, was apprehended. It shows that our multi-layered protection works.”

BBC said the suspect was due to appear in court again on Thursday, and it described prosecutors seeking that Allen remain detained and arguing the assassination attempt charge could be considered terrorism.

NBC News said the incident raised questions about “security protocols surrounding the event,” and it included a transportation-focused critique from Jared Cassity, who said security on the suspect’s train trip was “next to none.”

The BBC also reported that the Washington Hilton said it had followed security instructions from the Secret Service, and it quoted a senior White House official saying Trump was “standing by” the leadership of the Secret Service, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

As the legal process began, the White House and Trump allies framed the attack as the product of political rhetoric and “systemic demonization,” while Democrats and some lawmakers pushed back and demanded attention to the president’s own language.

El Mundo said the White House blamed the “left-wing hate cult” for the shooting and quoted press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the incident was the third assassination attempt against Trump in the last two years, adding that “The left's hate cult against the president and all those who support him and work for him has caused several people to be injured and killed.”

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Politico reported that Leavitt accused Democrats of putting the president’s life in danger with inflammatory rhetoric and told reporters, “When you read that manifesto of this shooter, ask yourselves, how different is that rhetoric from this almost-assassin than what you read on social media and hear in various forms every single day? The answer, if you’re being honest with yourself, is that there is no difference at all,” and it said she read aloud statements from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sens. Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren, and Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and JB Pritzker of Illinois.

CNN said Leavitt sought to shift blame for a rise in political violence to Democrats while omitting “incendiary rhetoric coming from Republicans and from President Donald Trump,” and it said her remarks drew a sharp rebuke from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The Guardian also captured Leavitt’s framing, quoting her saying there has been a “systematic demonization” of the president and declaring, “No one in recent years has been the target of more bullets and more violence than President Trump.”

Politico added that Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, suggested the media shared part of the blame, saying, “They’re just as guilty as a lot of people on X when you have — when you have reporters ... just being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence.”

In response, CNN quoted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saying, “When you have people committing crimes in office, we have an obligation to say that someone is committing a crime in office,” and it said she cited the administration’s failure to comply with the law in terms of the Epstein files disclosure.