Cole Tomas Allen Opens Fire at White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Evacuates Donald Trump

A gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., forcing President Donald Trump to be evacuated from the stage on Saturday night after shots were heard near a security checkpoint.

“Toggle Play Questions over Trump’s security after shooting at press gala Hours after gunshots echoed through this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, security measures for US President Donald Trump are once again under scrutiny”

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The BBC reported that Trump was evacuated after a gunman opened fire near a security checkpoint at the event, and that the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, would appear in court on Monday.

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The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said the suspect charged a security checkpoint at 8.36 p.m. carrying a "shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives," according to Time Magazine.

PBS, citing the Associated Press, said the man accused of opening fire railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a "Friendly Federal Assassin" in writings sent to family members minutes before the attack.

The BBC described how the suspect was tackled by agents just short of a staircase leading down to a ballroom where the annual dinner was getting under way, and said officials believed he possessed multiple weapons and appears to have acted alone.

The BBC also reported that in an exchange of fire, a federal agent was hit but saved by his bullet-proof vest, and that Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect was targeting administration officials including, most likely, the president.

Investigators and reporting across outlets tied the attack to documented premeditation and a manifesto-like set of writings sent to family members minutes before the shooting.

PBS, citing the Associated Press, said the writings made repeated references to President Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over "U.S. strikes on boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean."

BBC

PBS also said authorities uncovered what a law enforcement official described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old California man accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint while armed with multiple guns and knives.

The BBC said the suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, and that investigators were reviewing writings from the suspect stating he wanted to specifically target administration officials.

The Los Angeles Times quoted the alleged manifesto as describing targets as members of the Trump administration, ranking from the highest to the lowest, and said it also described a willingness to "go through" any guest standing in his way in order to kill the president’s aides.

Le Monde.fr reported that the 31-year-old left a manifesto in his hotel room the following evening after checking in at the Washington Hilton Hotel on April 24, and that he packed legally purchased weapons in his luggage: a shotgun, a handgun and knives.

The shooting triggered immediate scrutiny of how security was arranged for the dinner, with multiple outlets describing questions about whether the Secret Service response matched the threat level.

“An attack at a gala attended by President Donald Trump and senior U”

Daily Sabah

Daily Sabah said the attack put the event’s security arrangements under scrutiny as the suspected shooter was set to appear in court Monday, and it reported that the Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, said the event had not been assigned the level of security typically used for gatherings involving top officials.

Daily Sabah also reported that Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley scheduled a hearing to question the Secret Service over the security setup, while Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the arrangements by telling NBC News the system had functioned as intended and that the attacker was quickly contained.

The BBC similarly described Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche saying the suspect was targeting administration officials, and it said the suspect was tackled by agents just short of a staircase leading down to the ballroom.

The Los Angeles Times quoted Blanche calling the Secret Service’s response a "massive security success story" and described how Blanche told NBC’s "Meet the Press" that "the system worked" and that agents stopped the suspect as soon as he tried to do what he was trying to do.

Politico reported that law enforcement was investigating how a suspect got a firearm into the venue and that Blanche said the suspect was not cooperating with law enforcement.

While security questions played out after the shooting, The Guardian reported that the U.S. Department of J (DoJ) used the weekend shooting in Washington DC to pressure a preservation group to drop a lawsuit seeking to halt construction of Donald Trump’s White House ballroom.

The Guardian said several Trump administration officials, including the president, seized on the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to advance their case for completion of the controversial $400m project, for which the White House’s East Wing was suddenly demolished.

DW

On Sunday night, The Guardian reported that Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, posted on social media a letter to lawyers representing the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) calling the trust’s lawsuit “frivolous,” and it quoted the letter’s warning that "Put simply, your lawsuit puts the lives of the President, his family, and staff at grave risk."

The Guardian also quoted Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general of the justice department’s civil division, saying the White House ballroom was "essential for the safety of the president, his family, his cabinet, and his staff" and claiming the Washington Hilton where Saturday’s shooting occurred was currently the only ballroom in the capital large enough to host such large gatherings and was "demonstrably unsafe."

The Guardian said the letter echoed a claim posted by Trump on his Truth Social network on Sunday insisting that security agencies and "every President for the last 150 years, have been demanding that a large, safe, and secure ballroom be built on the grounds of the White House" and that "It’s time to build the ballroom," Blanche wrote on X.

The Guardian further described the legal timeline: in March, district court judge Richard Leon granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the non-profit trust, and a three-judge panel of the US court of appeals for Washington DC granted a stay of Leon’s order earlier this month allowing construction to continue while the lawsuit proceeds.

As the investigation continued, outlets described both the immediate legal process for the suspect and the broader context of security-related incidents involving Donald Trump.

“Trump Cites Democratic ‘Hate Speech’ is Dangerous Following Washington Gala Shooting Incident Suspect’s manifesto and systemic security gaps under investigation after president’s evacuation from Washington Hilton”

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Politico said law enforcement was looking into a manifesto Cole Tomas Allen allegedly sent to his family members minutes before the shooting, of which his brother notified local police in New London, Connecticut, roughly two hours after the shooting, leading to immediate federal notification.

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Politico also reported that Secret Service and Montgomery County Police interviewed Allen’s sister at her home in Rockville, Maryland, and said she confirmed her brother had purchased three firearms, while Politico said the suspect was not cooperating with law enforcement.

The BBC said Allen will appear in court on Monday and that officials said he possessed multiple weapons and appears to have acted alone, while it described how FBI agents and police were seen searching an area at a California address believed to be linked to the suspect.

DW described the shooting as the latest in a series of security-related events involving US President Donald Trump, citing incidents in July 2024, September 2024, and February 2026.

The Guardian’s ballroom story also tied the incident to future decisions, reporting that the next hearing is tentatively scheduled for 5 June and that the National Trust for Historic Preservation planned to pursue its lawsuit after the appeals panel’s 11 April order allowing construction to resume.